What a Wonderful Loss
by Gaige's Peppy Sweetheart
Summary: After Ash cross-dresses to get into Celadon gym, Misty, Brock, and Ash's entire team lose all respect for the boy and betray him. Ash has nothing, but a sympathetic Erika comforts him and acts first as a mentor, then follows him as a moral support and later romance. Ash will emerge far more victorious than ever and catch different Pokemon in order to prove wrong his former friends.
1. Look What You've Done to Me

**GPS: Hi! So I took someone's advice (whom I shall keep anonymous) and got the idea of creating a new story that is a semi-spin off of The World's in Your Hands and the Indigo League Anime. I hope you like! It's a spin-off in a way since it involves AshxErika, a couple that is essentially never mentioned.**

**Here are some things to keep in mind! Ash is 14-and-a-half in this story (I'm tired of him being 10) and Misty is also the same age. Brock is 17 and Erika is a few weeks shy of her 15th birthday. Everything up to this point is _exactly _the same as the anime. He is more than likely to catch a few different Pokemon, but that is still unknown. I hope you like!**

**I call this PerfumeClashShipping, since they had different opinions on perfume in the anime, but it says there is something called "BanShipping". Oddly enough, "Ban" with the appropriate tone means "petal" in Mandarin Chinese. Lol. (:**

**I own and gain nothing from this story!**

****I'll assign genders even though they didn't exist in Generation 1; I can't stand calling them "it" 'cause I use that to refer to an inanimate object. ****

****This chapter will have moderate profanity.****

**Another huge thing that I would like to add; please read this story with an open mind. Misty and Brock will be/appear OOC but they will later be a major focus. **

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><p><strong>September 23, 1997<strong>

Ash, Misty, and Brock had finally just arrived to Celadon City after taking the arid path of Route 8. They were in awe at the spectacular sight of the plethora of skyscrapers and Ash was giddy that soon, he would be getting his fifth gym badge.

"Come on, you guys, let's make haste and get to the Pokémon gym," said Ash, but his two friends were nowhere to be seen. Pikachu pointed with his yellow paw in the direction and saw that Misty and Brock were both standing outside of a shop. "What are you guys looking at?"

"This perfume shop; you must come smell the local selection!" said Misty as entered the store. Brock followed suit and went in as well. Ash shrugged and went into the store as well and saw a saleswoman spraying perfume onto Misty's arm. She held it out for Ash and said, "Tell me what you think. I think it's just _lovely._"

"Well, I think it's just awful," said Ash after he smelled it. "It's a bit inappropriate for a girl your age, if you ask me. Too much of it will make older guys get the wrong vibe."

Misty gasped and lifted her index finger and was about to speak, but someone beat her to it. "How dare you say such a thing! This perfume is all-natural and obtained from the goodness of kind-hearted grass types, not synthetic oils!" Ash got a look at the female; she was dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono and a black hairstyle that complimented her outfit.

"Either way, it smells rancid!" commented Ash as he tried fanning the perfume that was diffusing across the shop. "I mean, look at this!" He pointed to a bottle that was a translucent blue and was about 3 inches tall. "Who in their right mind would pay ¥9600 for _this?_"

"So, you are insinuating that this shop sells overpriced perfume of low quality?" stated the manager.

"This is _high-quality _perfume?" stated Ash. "I could find better-smelling stuff in a Machoke's duffel bag!"

"Ash, your behavior reeks more than a sweaty Machoke, so please shut it," murmured Misty.

"Well, sweat is a sign of masculinity! Only sissies wear perfume!" said Ash in a somewhat satisfied disposition.

"Well, I never!" said the girl. "As the manager of this store, I must ask you to leave this instance."

"Ash, I think you'd better leave this lovely lady alone," said Brock as he went love-struck over the manager. She sweat dropped in embarrassment but also blushed slightly.

"Fine! I thank everyday that I'm a male!" stated Ash as he left the store without another word.

"I'm going to get a bite to eat," said Brock. "I'll be by the gym later to see Ash's battle." He, too, left the store and went to a small café across the street.

"The nerve of that raven-haired boy..." said the manager as she got another selection of perfume for Misty to sample. "Are you friends with him?"

"Yes...but I actually question myself as to why we still are," said Misty.

Meanwhile, Ash was aimlessly wandering across the gigantic metropolis of Celadon City, trying to find the gym. His stomach rumbled and he decided to get something to eat. After he got a sandwich at a nearby stand, he sat on a bench and watched the people walk about and mind their own business. He looked down and said to no one,

"Misty...I'm so sorry I acted that way...It's just...I don't wanna lose you. If you start wearing perfume, next you'll start wearing makeup and then leave...with someone else..." Ash shook the thought away and tried not to dare imagine the possibility of Misty leaving. He had so many feelings and thoughts he wanted to share for her; she had made what appeared to be advances before, but he played the "act dense and ignore it" card to play hard-to-get and utilize reverse psychology to make her want him more.

Ash followed a map on the street and arrived at the hard-to-miss Pokemon gym; its roof was shaped like a Vileplume. The boy ran up the flight of steps and arrived to electronic sliding doors where he was met by 13 girls-12 of them were making a semi-circle around the door and one of them was standing in the middle of said semi-circle. All of them had on the same outfit: khaki shorts with a belt, a tan shirt, and a red neck tie.

"Hi," said Ash as he looked at all the girls. "Which one of you is the gym leader?"

"None us are, and you can't come in," said the girl standing in the middle. She had a long blue ponytail and a serious look on her face that complimented her posture of folded arms.

"Excuse me?" said Ash as he blinked and sweat dropped.

"You heard what I said. The perfume shop on 2nd Street told informed us about a very rude teenager and authorized us to deny your entrance," said the blue ponytail girl.

"What does how I acted in the perfume shop have anything to do with not letting me in for a Pokemon gym battle?" questioned Ash as he had a blank stare on his face as he was completely lost.

A girl with short, curly brown hair approached Ash and said, "That perfume that smells like Machoke sweat, as she told us, is manufactured right here in this gym."

"So the truth is, _you're _the one who stinks!" resumed the blue-haired girl as she took out a huge red stamp and planted an X on Ash's face. The force was so tremendous that he fell over hard against the ground. He collected his thoughts and looked at the locked sliding door and said,

"Please? I'm _begging _you! I'm trying to be a Pokemon master!"

"Get lost!" said the blue-haired girl as she displayed an akanbe and left.

Ash moaned in distress and started walking down the stairs. Multiple people pointed and laughed at the red X on his face and he began to wipe it off with a napkin he had in his pocket from earlier. It was about 3 o'clock and the sun was beating down with its toughest intensity, so the raven-haired boy decided to sit down on a bench. Ash heard some rustling noises and then a voice said,

"Hey, twerp, did they deny your right to a gym battle?" It was Jessie from Team Rocket and she, James, and Meowth were all tied and hanging from a huge tree branch. They, too, all had red X's on their face and their arms were completely useless as they attempted to break the ropes.

"That's none of your concern, you crooks," said Ash as he started to walk away.

"Please, help us down here," said James pathetically as he was desperate to ask even the 14-year-old kid they stalked for help.

"Traitor! How do you stoop to his level?!" said an enraged Jessie as she managed to move her leg enough to kick James in the stomach.

"Whose side are you on?!" said Meowth.

A light bulb flashed in Jessie's mind; she devised a way on how to help both parties. "Hey, twerp, I know something that will definitely get you into that gym."

"What?" said Ash.

"Get us down first, then we'll talk," stated Jessie.

Ash knew that they were no-good crooks, but his instinct told him to trust them on this. "Pidgeotto, use wing attack to cut the ropes!"

"Pidgeo!" said the bird Pokemon as he left his Pokeball. With one swift attack, the three ropes were cut and the three Rocket members fell to the ground.

"Be more gentle, brat!" said an angered Jessie.

"Yeah, yeah. Now it's your end of the bargain. How are you going to help me get into that gym?" said Ash.

"Follow us," said James. Jessie and James lead Ash to the Celadon department store and went to the women's fashion.

"Why are we here?" said Ash who was a bit slow to catch on to what was going to happen.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Jessie. "This is your ticket into getting in that gym."

"By dressing up as a girl?" stated Ash with a hushed voice so that no one would hear him.

"Precisely," said Jessie. "In order to pass for a twerpette, you need to wear something that hides your...area the best and keep people from even noticing you are a guy. I'm thinking of a nice dress, but here is a question: do you have hair on your legs?"

"Uh...yeah?" said Ash a bit haltingly at the extremely awkward question.

"All right, just...go in that dressing room and we'll take care of it," said Meowth. Ash did as they told him and in about three minutes, they had returned with a collection of stuff. One was a rose red dress that had a petticoat in it (to hide his lack of curves) and a pair of black stockings that were so dark that it was virtually impossible to tell that he had hair on his legs. They also gave him a pair of matching red pumps and a wig of brown hair. They also gave him eye shadow and mascara and Jessie told him how to put it on. After about 10 minutes of getting ready, Ash looked into the mirror.

"Oh, my...Look at me!" said Ash surprisingly not in shock that most boys would have been in.

"Not even your own mother would recognize you!" stated Jessie.

"Great hair!" said James with a thumbs up.

"Now I'm going to earn a badge!" said Ash in his same voice.

"Uh-uh-uh, that doesn't sound very lady-like," said Jessie.

Ash repeated the same thing but with a surprisingly impressive female voice. However, unbeknownst to the cross-dresser, within his Pokeballs serious emotions were stirring up and a lost of trust was building up as they watched their trainer stoop to such a low level as he had not just now, but also at the perfume shop.

Ash, Jessie, who was wearing a pink kimono, glasses, and had her hair up in a bun, James, wearing khakis and a red shirt that had Meowth stuffed in it to look like a pot belly, arrived at the Pokemon gym. The electronic doors opened and the same girl who had stamped Ash's face greeted them.

"Hello, there, would you like to enroll your daughter in tonight's training session?" she said.

"Absolutely. Our daughter Vanessa would love to join and meet some friends!" said Jessie with her unaltered voice.

The blue-haired girl chuckled and said, "My name's Stephanie. Do you like perfume?"

"I_s this some sort of trick question?" _thought Ash. He feared that if he said no, they may not let him in. "Oh, of course! I just _adore _perfume!" he responded in his feminine voice.

"Excellent! Now, please follow me," said Stephanie as Ash followed her. He turned around and Team Rocket were blowing kisses as if they were his parents.

"Be a good little girl!" said Jessie as she waved good-bye.

"Bye, sweetie! Have fun!" said James. The two of them left out the front door and Ash turned back around until they had reached a large grassy forest-like area.

"This is the main training ground," said Stephanie. Ash was beyond stoked that his disguise made him invisible! He saw that there were a bunch of girls who were in their teens and they were gathered around a girl with short indigo hair telling a story.

"And Omanyte returned to the ocean. The end," she said as Ash heard the final sentence of the story. The females began clapping and Ash realized that both Brock _and _Misty were both there as well as Pikachu.

"Erika!" said Stephanie as waved at the girl with darker blue hair. "We have a new student!" Erika walked over to where Ash was and smiled warmly with her eyes closed.

"Welcome. So nice to meet you," said Erika with a polite attitude.

"Thank you, ma'am," said Ash as he shook hands with the blue-haired female. Ash got a good look at her face and gasped out loud, causing Erika to tilt her head. "_The manager at the perfume shop!" _he thought. He looked downwards with embarrassment and said nothing else.

"Is something the matter?" said Erika with concerned. Brock and Misty, both completely oblivious to their friend's disguise, approached Ash.

"I'm just...shy..." responded Ash with a titter as he looked away.

"No need to be," said Brock. "All the girls here just wanna be your friend. You don't have to worry about a thing."

Misty got in Ash's face at an uncomfortable distance and thoroughly looked at him. "You know, you sort of remind me of someone I have strong feelings for."

Ash gulped and his heart started pounding with excitement. "_She has feelings...for me? Oh, if I could just tell her now!" _he thought.

Ash looked at his feet and saw that Pikachu was right there. "Pika-pi!" said the yellow rodent as he hugged Ash's leg.

"Knock it off..." said Ash under his breath and slightly kicked Pikachu away."Pika-pi" was Pikachu's version of saying Ash and he didn't want his cover blown.

Pikachu gasped and felt betrayed that his beloved trainer did this to him. "Pika...chu!" said the mouse as he released a thunderbolt. Everyone in the room starting gasping at what the friendly rodent was doing to a seemingly innocent "girl".

Ash groaned and he placed a hand on his cheek. He looked back at it and saw that the makeup was dripping.

"...Are you okay?" asked Erika as she got some napkins from her purse. Ash took them and wiped off the mess, but all the sudden, his wig fell off!

"It's Ash!" shouted Misty and Brock.

"Yeah, it's me," he said as he resumed wiping off the makeup.

"You're that rude boy from the shop!" stated Erika as she pointed a finger at Ash.

"Yeah, but that's because you wouldn't let me into the gym!" stated Ash as he took out a Pokeball. "Let's battle."

"Very well, although I don't like you one bit for what you've said, I will fulfill my duty as the Celadon Gym Leader," said Erika.

"Come on, Pikachu, help me out," said Ash. He looked around and saw that Pikachu, Misty, nor Brock were nowhere to be found. "GUYS!" Ash shouted again. He ran out of the main arena and went to the front door where he caught the two gym leaders just in time. "Where are you going? I'm about to have my battle."

"Oh, I wouldn't watch it for the world," said Misty as she held Pikachu. "Ash, you crossed a line and broken my trust today. Well, today was more of the breaking point. You have been nothing but bad luck."

"What?!" shouted Ash as he couldn't believe his ears. Erika was eavesdropping on the situation from a corner, hidden from view.

"I hate to agree, but I can't lie," said Brock. "I mean, Sabrina turning us into a doll, the St. Anne disaster...Team Rocket on our trail every day...I didn't sign up for any of those when I wanted to travel with you."

Ash gasped and then Misty spoke. "You know, I had faith in you. Granted, I didn't outwardly express it, but I had thoughts you could be a good trainer. Now you've proven me wrong. You have convinced me that your dream of becoming a Pokemon master should just remain that way. You have no business if you stoop so low as to conceal yourself and fool everybody. Plus, your skills are mediocre at best. You have no knowledge of type match-ups, like at the Pewter Gym, and you have failed to get a badge on your first try at _three _gyms. That's just sad."

"Well, truth be told, you weren't a great help either; all you do is whine and worry only about yourself," stated Ash. "You always put me down and make me feel like shit, something a friend shouldn't be doing. Come on, Pikachu. We have a badge to earn."

The yellow rodent shook his head and then unleashed a powerful thunderbolt on his previous trainer. Ash coughed and wiped his eyes and said, "You, too, Pikachu? Must it be this way?"

"Pika!" he responded and went to Ash's hips. He pressed the buttons on the balls and all five of his other Pokemon came out. "Pika, kapi, pipi, chukapikachu!" he said and resumed talking with the other Pokemon and they stepped back with astonishment.

"Come on, guys, get back in your balls," stated Ash as he reached for Pidgeotto's ball. Primeape used an uppercut against his recent "trainer" and stole the boy's hat when he was on the ground. "I'm not joking, dammit!" shouted Ash. Charmander unleashed a flamethrower and Ash's clothes caught on fire! Squirtle "graciously" extinguished the flames with a full-force water gun and Ash was on his back, coughing and trying to get up. Once he finally did, he saw that all of them were at the bottom of the flight of stairs in front of the gym and running into the night of the giant city.

"You'll regret this someday! I **_swear_** it!" shouted Ash. He headed towards the nearby bathroom and took off the dress and other garments that he was wearing and put back on his standard clothes. He threw the clothes in the trash bin and went out the door, still soaking wet from the water attack. He sat on the top of the flight of stairs and looked into the gleaming lights of the Celadon skyline.

_"Betrayed...by his friends and his entire team like that_," thought Erika as she was by the front door of the gym looking at Ash. "E_ven though what he said at the shop earlier was beyond rude, I can't imagine what he must be feeling. He doesn't deserve that...still..._"

Time had passed. It was now 9:30 p.m. and it was time to close the gym. Stephanie was walking towards the exit of the building but she saw Ash still sitting there.

"Hey, Erika?" she said.

"Yes?" said Erika as she was still speechless. She hadn't even returned to the training session that she was teaching earlier.

"That kid is still just sitting there. Should I kick him off the premises for loitering?" asked Stephanie.

"No...just leave him alone. I'll deal with him. You can just go out the back to avoid him," responded the indigo-haired gym leader.

"All right. See you tomorrow."

"Likewise."

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><p>Ash looked at the time on his PokeDex. It was now 10:28 p.m. and he normally would be asleep at this point or at least at a campfire with his friends. <em><strong>Former<strong> _friends. He had nothing now. Not even his trademark hat, and most certainly, not his dignity. He blew it all for the sake of trying to impress Misty by getting the Celadon gym badge while she was out, but now...

"Go on a Pokemon journey, they say," said Ash out loud to no one. "It'll be fun and you'll make plenty of friends, they say. What a bunch of shit. I got _nothing _now. Is the end of my struggle in sight?"

...

All the sudden, Ash snapped. "FUCK! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, MISTY?! HOW LONG WERE YOU PLANNING THIS?!" He took off his backpack and threw it down to the very bottom of the stairs. It must've been at least 40 feet, but he honestly couldn't care less if the contents were damaged at this point. Ash resumed releasing steam and collapsed to the ground. He balled himself up in a fetal position and started rocking himself back and forth as he started crying uncontrollably. "I _loved _you, Misty! You pulled the world out from under me! I hope you're satisfied at what you've done to me."

Erika had witnessed Ash's slipping sanity from the comfort of the inside of the gym. Granted she didn't know him well, she felt horrible that he was suffering so much.

"Pikachu...you were my first partner...I thought I gave you everything I had, but you left me high and dry. Be safe...No! I want you to suffer like I am!" Ash started pulling at his hair and actually ripped some out. "No! I don't want anything to happen to you! I hope you find a better trainer...someone who isn't shitty like me..."

Some time had passed and Erika could pick up the negative aura that was transmitting; her heart strings were in pain from watching Ash's spaz attack.

Ash had finally managed to fall asleep, but he woke up at about 6 a.m. at the same spot. His clothes were drenched because it had rained while he was asleep and he felt a cold coming. Ash heard the pitter-patter of feet approaching him; was it Erika? He didn't move but he jumped in shock when something touched him.

"Ma?" said a voice. It sounded somewhat masculine, but it didn't really sound human either. Ash stirred in his sleep and finally was fully awake. He saw a short grey figure standing there with a warm smile; it was a Pokemon, and one that Ash hadn't seen before.

Ash reached for his electronic encyclopedia and pointed it at the figure. "Machop, the superpower Pokemon. They live mostly in the mountains and they practice weight lifting by hurling Pokemon such as Golem. They have almost infinite stamina and enjoy the company of people."

Ash scratched his head and said, "So you're a Machop, huh?"

"Chop," said the grey male Pokemon with a nod and a wag of his tail.

"My name is Ash-Ash the loser. You may not wanna hang around cause I may ruin your day," responded the human. Ash's stomach grumbled loudly; he hadn't had anything to eat since that sandwich yesterday and was truly starving. Machop tilted his head at the sound the boy's stomach made and went down the stairs to the grass and then out of view.

"So much for that..." said Ash as he turned back and looked to the gym. Upon careful inspection, he saw a figure with indigo hair that quickly vanished upon meeting his glance. "Was that Erika?" he stated.

"Chop, Machop?" said the confused fighting type as he offered Ash some berries.

"Thanks, little buddy. I was getting really hungry," said Ash as he patted the Pokemon on the head. Ash ate the blueberries greedily and belched with satisfaction after they were all gone. "So, it says you are from the mountains. Do you live around here?"

Machop nodded and ate some of the blueberries.

"Did you wander off? Do you have a trainer?"

The grey Pokemon shook his head no and continued to wag his tail.

"I had Pokemon..." started Ash as he wiped his face. "But now, I got nothing. My human friends left me, too, and I'm all alone now in this cold world." Machop looked at Ash with an interested look; it was clear that he was listening to the boy's sob story and could actually feel a bit of compassion. "See, I was aiming to be a Pokemon master. I won four gym badges already. See?" He opened his jacket and showed the badges to Machop. Machop nodded with approval and gave a thumbs up. Ash chuckled and patted his head again, earning a low response of the Pokemon's name and a tail wag.

Erika watched the scene from the inside and smiled. "He does seem to have a soft spot for Pokemon," she said to her Gloom.

"Gloom, Gloom!" said the Pokemon with a smile.

All the sudden, a voice reached Erika's ears. "Is that kid still here? Why haven't you reported him? He is trespassing!"

"I wouldn't qualify it as trespassing, Stephanie," said Erika. "Good morning to yourself," she added with a rather snide tone.

"What bug Pokemon bit you?" said Stephanie. "That boy is a cross-dressing dweeb who disrespects our art of perfume making! Why are you so defensive about him?"

"That is your accusation that does not have any merit," responded Erika as she sipped some herbal tea. "Please tend to the Pokemon. I must return to my house and talk to my parents about an important matter."

"Very well. Let us have a _blooming _good day!" said Stephanie with a cheerful tone.

"Ugh," said Erika as she face-palmed at the horrible pun.

Back with Ash, he finished talking with Machop about the whole ordeal of what happened yesterday. "I'm going to the Pokemon center and call my mom. Hopefully she can come here and pick me up to take back home. Nice talking to you, little buddy!"

"Chop?" said the fighting type. He watched Ash walk into the city and he followed suit. Erika then left the gym and followed the two; she had something she wanted to tell Ash but used the excuse of going back home to hide her intentions.

"_Ash...what could you be doing?_" thought Erika as she walked down the streets of her home city.

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><p><strong>Well, there you go! Chapter 1 of my new story! I hope this somewhat original story is entertaining. Until next time!<strong>

**Oh yeah, I want to add one more thing to simplify anybody's possible questions in the future.**

**Ash is 14 and a half years old, and he started on his 14th birthday, which is 4 years older than the legal age to become a trainer. Since the events up to this point go exactly as they had in the anime, it's understandable that a new upcoming trainer at 10 would be full of mistakes. However, Ash in this story did nothing during the 4 years he waited and therefore since he is more "mature", per se, it's a bit harder to excuse himself since he easily could have studied and minimized his carelessness. Misty and Brock, as well as his team, got tired of Ash being unable to recognize and learn from the mistakes that he has made, plus all the stuff such as St. Anne, Sabrina, Team Rocket, etc., that have jeopardized their lives. That's the basis of their betrayal, and since Pikachu had a very strong bond with the other 4 Pokemon (not so much as with Primeape since he's new), that's why he let them go and his dialogue was essentially informing them of what I just said and they essentially realized that Pikachu is pretty much correct.**

**As for the Pokeball thing, they were able to witness Ash aiding the enemy to fulfill his desire of getting into the gym. They saw that as a sign of betrayal since, well, Team Rocket is the enemy. I hope this clarifies.**


	2. Trying to Put Back Together My Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**Also, the Pokemon in this story will be from Generation 1 since this is in the late '90s, **** go, Generation 1 forever! (: _But _I may change that if the reviewers think different generations should be in story.**

**Notice: This chapter will have brief unpleasant images as well as some profanity. You've been informed. It is part of the reason why Ash is who he is in the story, but I promise things will get better in the future. This will probably be the...least pleasant (for lack of better word) chapter, although I don't think it's that extreme.**

**Italicized=speech from past.**

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><p>Ash's demeanor had mellowed down to slightly elated, a great contrast to last night. He had set his mind to return home and resume studying at school, but he did not yet establish a goal as to why he wanted to go back. As he walked down the crowded streets, he saw Misty and Brock's faces in the shadows of the people who tried to hide their faces in the darkness that still engulfed the majority of the sky.<p>

He felt that a burden had been lifted off his shoulder. Literally, a 13-pound Pikachu that rested on top of his shoulders no longer tickling his ears. "Buddy...I pray that you are safe..." whispered Ash as he walked with his head down. He sniffled and did his best not to let the tears fall but it ended in failure. "I've known you all for only...four months? Well, except Primeape. I got you yesterday. Still...I thought I was doing my best, but I guess not even that was enough."

Erika was still on the trail of Machop who happened to be on the trail of Machop. The girl was probably about 30 feet behind the fighting type to avoid being detected and he was probably a dozen meters or so ahead of Machop, so it was still quite difficult for Erika to see Ash.

Ash's mind was in a blur. The memories of all his Pokemon and the history with not just his formal team, but the individual Pokemon in general, kept replaying in his mind. As it was the end to him, he visualized the beginning of why he was doomed to not become a Pokemon trainer, or at least not follow the desire that every 10-year-old had since it was the norm, but Ash was different and a completely different view on Pokemon, leading to his delay in becoming a trainer.

He thought back in the summer of 1990 when he was 7 years old that a stray Rattata had stolen his food when he was at a picnic with his mom and dad. He thought that the Pokemon was hungry, but he was still pretty upset. That same day, he had wandered off a bit farther than he should have and came across an Oddish that was planted in the ground to avoid the sun's harsh rays. Being the curious little boy that he was, he pulled one of the leaves off the grass-type's head and earned a loud screech from the plant. It then popped out of the ground and tackled Ash, scaring him away. He burst into a frenzy of tears, screaming that he hated Pokemon, but his father clearly explained that Ash was just overreacting and not having a good day.

Later in the spring of '92, Delia and Alexander (the name I'm giving his father) noticed that their son was having difficulties with school. His teacher frequently informed the parents that the 3rd-grade boy was having utmost difficulty in paying attention in class and would have streaks of impulsivity, such as blurting out unnecessary comments or rude gestures. He went through a battery of psychological tests and the doctors informed the two parents that he had ADHD. They were surprised that someone his age was not diagnosed beforehand since it usually is most noticeable by the age of six. Delia asked how he got it and why was it appearing at age 9. The doctors said that it was more than likely passed genetically and a test confirmed that Alexander was indeed the carrier of the condition. Ash was prescribed various medicines and it began to help noticeably, but the doctors said that he still had attention problems that were above average, although they had been greatly lowered since before getting treatment.

When Ash's 10th birthday came around the next year, he begged to go on a Pokemon journey. His parents immediately said no, claiming that he was still not even responsible enough to keep up with his homework or tidy his room. Straying away from the time-consuming video games, Ash began to focus more on improving himself. He frequently had visits to the school counselor and even a psychiatrist to help him get through some of his issues that he still faced in school and with behavior, granted that they weren't as severe as before he was diagnosed. Originally making all C's in school, Ash gave his dad a huge surprise on his 34th birthday and showed his report card.

"_Look, daddy! I got better grades this time!" _he said in his flashback. His father opened the envelope and saw his son's grades; originally from six C's or 5 C's and a D, he was shocked to see 3 B's and 3 A's!

"_Oh, son! I'm so proud of you!" _said Alexander as he looked again at his 4th-grade son's report card. "_You're doing so much better. I love you."_

_"I love you, too, daddy!" _The two males exchanged a warm hugged and Delia took a photo of the moment with the timed camera...What they didn't know was that this would be the last moment that Ash, Alexander, and Delia would be captured on photo in a very long time.

The next morning, Ash went to school via the bus and Delia had already gotten dressed and was about to leave. She was about to leave and Alexander was following behind. Delia got in the car and her husband locked the front door and as he was heading towards the vehicle, he saw a stray Rattata walking around in pain.

"_Honey, wait," _said the man. "_This rodent Pokemon appears sick. We should take him to the nearest Pokemon Center asap." _Alexander took out a ball and was intending on capturing said mouse Pokemon. He threw it, but the rodent lunged at his chest and began to bite him with great force!

"_Oh, shit!_" shouted Alexander. "_Get this bastard off of me!" _

Delia got out of the car and with her big hand bag whacked the Rattata off her husband. The mouse Pokemon must have been morbidly sick because the blow killed him and it wasn't even that strong of a blow.

"_Oh, my Arceus!" _said Delia as she started crying and helped Alexander into the car. "_I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"_ She stepped on the accelerator as fast as she could and went to the nearby hospital. "_PLEASE HELP MY HUSBAND!" _she shouted to the staff as she pointed to her car in front of the doors. They got a gurney and placed the man on the device. What shocked her even more was that he began having seizures and started foaming at the mouth!

"_Ma'am, I'll have to ask you to stay in the waiting room_," said a receptionist. "_I need a hazmat unit asap! This man has been infected with acute rabies!"_

_"Oh, my Arceus," _said Delia as she sat in a chair as a group of men with white suits took Alexander away. "_I love you! Please be strong!" _The 33-year-old woman started crying and decided that she should not let Ash be in the dark in this situation. She drove to school and asked the principle to take her son out, which he allowed, and she took Ash to the hospital. In all, since she had left and come back, it had been about 30 minutes. Throughout the whole trip, Ash and Delia were both crying hysterically at what was going on. When they arrived there, Delia asked for an update.

"_I'm very sorry ma'am, but...he's losing his battle for survival," _said the nurse. Upon hearing this, Ash started crying even more.

"_What the hell do you mean?! Try harder, dammit!"_ shouted a furious Delia. "_I'm so sorry, Ash, miss, I'm just so..."_ She lost her grip and started crying even more.

_"It's understandable, Mrs..." _started the Nurse.

"_Ketchum...Delia Ketchum, and this is my son, Ash. Please help my husband...please?"_

_"I can't guarantee his survival, but we are doing the best we can with the available staff," _said the nurse.

Ash and Delia both stayed at the hospital. The doctors later told them that he was now comatose and that his condition was stable. They were granted permission to visit him and a biohazard team investigated the dead Rattata and sealed off their house while they fumigated it to prevent any possible spread. They were allowed to go back two weeks after the incident, but Alexander was still unresponsive. Ash's performance at school was taking a turn for the worse, and 4 months later, doctors told the two some terrible news.

_"Mrs. Ketchum...this is a decision that you have to make," _said a doctor. "_Your husband...is brain-dead; he is kept alive artificially. That virus obtained from the Rattata was a mutant strand of rabies. If someone had taken it to the Pokemon center days before the accident, both your husband and the Rattata would be alive."_

_"No, he isn't dead yet," _said Delia. "_I'm not losing hope. Ash needs a father and Alexander is the best figure he has! He loves me and the boy unconditionally and I'm not losing hope until his heart stops beating!"_

_"Very well. We respect your wishes, but you can speak to us anytime if you change your mind." _

Weeks turned into months, which then turned into two years. Ash let himself go and virtually stopped caring for school. He virtually lived in fear that a Pokemon would attack his mother or even himself and would end up like like his father. When Ash turned 12, he got a rude "present" from his rival, or, more accurately, _former rival,_ Gary Oak. The brunette-haired boy gloated that he got all 8 gym badges and even participated in the Kanto League despite loosing. He basically made Ash feel like shit and Ash fell into a state of major depression and became restless.

His doctor prescribed him antidepressants and the boy began to recover and kept convincing him that Pokemon were not evil and gradually began less scared. Many children at school kept accusing him of hating Pokemon and some even exaggerated that he had kicked and hurt Rattatas to get revenge on his father, but there was no proof of such thing. The truth was, Ash completely isolated himself from Pokemon and ran away in fear whenever he saw one, which resulted in his being teased by other classmates for being a coward. It made Ash isolate himself from even humans and was constantly taken to the doctor for normal checkups.

27 months after the incident, doctors were dumbfounded and called Delia at home. She rushed to the hospital and took her 12-and-a-half-year-old son to the hospital.

"_Mrs. Ketchum, I have news that you should hear."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Your husband...has virtually beat the impossible. We do not know how, but...we are seeing activity in his brain! This is an outstanding discovery!"_

_"So you mean..." _said Delia.

_"Yes. We are in very high hopes that he will recover in the future, although we cannot pinpoint an accurate date."_

Upon hearing the news, Ash was elated. He constantly convinced himself that his father was going to get better, and better he got. A month after this discovery, Alexander was able to respond to music, more importantly, it was the song at his and Delia's wedding. 2 months after that, he was able to respond to light and regained movement in his fingertips. After a long wait of 8 more months, Alexander had finally regained his ability to speak. Delia and Ash were both crying, of course, and kissed the man.

"_Daddy!" _said Ash a year ago. It was September of '96 and despite being 13-and-a-half, Ash still had a soft spot for calling his father "daddy".

The doctors informed the two that Alexander would still need a great amount of time to recover. Unfortunately, some issues arose and he was paralyzed below the waist. Ash was greatly saddened by this, but he was still beyond thrilled that his father was alive. Two months passed before he was released and Ash and Delia informed the man about all the stuff that happened. Alexander was shocked that Ash was still scared of Pokemon and the family reconnected by visiting places such as the local zoo and water shows to reunite the years that were taken from them. Along with his father's advice and more counselling, Ash eventually began to lose his fear and regained confident that Pokemon were not horrible monsters bent on destroying lives. He even began to aspire becoming a trainer one day, but of course he needed his parents' permission.

A few weeks were looming into Ash's birthday. His father had been home for a three months and everything had seemed to be just like before the incident.

"_Delia...should we let Ash start a journey on his 14th birthday?" _asked Alexander as he was reading the paper in his wheelchair. Ash was at school today and Delia was working at home.

"_Yes. Ash has really taken a liking towards Pokemon again," _responded his wife as she kissed him. _"That is, of course, if he feels that he can live up to the responsibility of traveling on his own. I just hope that he is responsible enough to look after a Pokemon, too. I've told him before to watch some of the educational lectures by Professor Oak, but he seems more interested in watching battles."_

_"The boy is not dumb, if that is what you are insinuating," _remarked Alexander as he set down his paper. _"I have heard him talk about all the cool moves and stuff about Pokemon."_

_"Yes, but battle tournaments are a form of entertainment, not education," _pointed out Delia. _"I'm not saying he will fail; it's just that sometimes his ADHD gets the better of him and the lack of learning the fundamentals of Pokemon may make becoming a trainer a lot harder. I've seen him improve with his condition, thanks to his medicine. Plus, he is four years older than the legal minimum age of being a trainer!"_

_"So you fear that he may be the target of bullying?"_

"_I didn't say that, Alex. You are putting words into my mouth. One would think that if he started at age 14, he would have a lot more exposure to Pokemon, but it isn't the case with him. He lived in fear the past 3 years and isolated himself from the creatures."_

The two adults carried on the rest of the day and waited for Ash to get home. The two of them agreed to get the boy's opinion of becoming a trainer.

"_Mom, daddy, I'm home_!" said Ash as he walked through the door and set his stuff down.

"_That's wonderful, dear, and I'm glad," _responded Delia as she poured her almost 14-year-old son a glass of lemonade.

"_Son, we need to have a family talk," _stated his father as Ash sat between his father and mother. "_You aren't in trouble, before you ask. This is about your desire to become a Pokemon trainer."_

_"I see them now so much differently than before," _stated Ash. "_I would like to show those who doubted me that anyone can achieve what he wants with the proper determination."_

**_Back to the present...(_future chapters will pick up on this background and so forth.)**

"I don't know what I was saying when I thought I could prove the doubters wrong," said Ash as he kept looking down. Machop, who had been getting too close to Ash, stopped at a corner of an alley and looked around the edge. Ash was standing there completely motionless. Machop tilted his head and frowned; he had just met this boy no more than 20 minutes ago, but he was taking a great interest already.

Erika trailed behind the muscle Pokemon and had her hands on her thighs as she bent over to pant; along the way she had tripped and lost about 10 seconds of pursuit. She reached the corner where the grey bipedal Pokemon was and said, "I saw you outside my gym earlier. You seem to care about him. I saw what happened with my own eyes, so it leaves me even more concerned since he could be destructive to himself."

"Chop?" said the small fighting type.

"It was nice that you gave him blueberries, even though they came off the bushes I planted a while back," said Erika.

Machop looked at his hands and sniffed them. Erika just chuckled. They both looked around the corner and saw that Ash had now just started walking again.

"Let's go follow him," she suggested.

After about five more minutes, the boy finally arrived to the Pokemon center and was greeted by Nurse Joy. Erika and Machop both managed to enter the Pokemon Center without Ash or Nurse Joy seeing them since the desk was turned a bit away from the door and due to the large amount of people walking by.

"Hello, Ash, how's it going?" she asked the teenager.

"Terrible. I lost my two friends and all six of my Pokemon; I have nothing," he said as his mood returned to depression. He provided a brief synopsis of what happened yesterday while avoiding some of the finer details like cross-dressing and Team Rocket. "I may as well just go home and resume studying and see what happens from there."

"So you don't have any other Pokemon, not even in the PC?" asked Nurse Joy as she was a bit stunned.

"Yeah...I have Krabby, but I haven't used him yet," said Ash. "Plus, it's not like it'll do me any good because I have four badges and the gym in this city here uses grass types. I'd definitely be at a disadvantage."

"Well, that is true, but I have something that may make Krabby a lot better in this gym," responded Nurse Joy.

"What is it?" said Ash.

"In the department store here on the roof is a little girl who gives away ice beam if you give her water," said Nurse Joy.

"What an odd trade," said Ash. "I will look into it, but I am still unsure of going home or not."

"Do what your heart thinks is best," said Nurse Joy.

"All right, but I would have to call Professor Oak to get Krabby, right?" he asked. She merely nodded as a response. "I'm still uncertain about this, but I'll give it a try." Ash went to the video phone and dialed Oak's number.

"Hello, Ash," said Professor Oak as he was cooking tofu. "How's it going?"

"I've been better," said Ash as he did his best to cover up how he was truly feeling. "I would like to use Krabby, please."

"Certainly," said the Professor, "but which one are you going to send to me?"

"Uh...I can't send back any," responded Ash with his head down low.

"What do you mean you can't send any back?" responded the man.

"They...betrayed me," responded Ash. "So did my other friends. I'm wondering if it's a sign for me to quit while I'm ahead."

"What exactly happened?" said Professor Samuel Oak as he began eating the tofu and drank coffee.

Ash essentially informed him that he was incompetent at battling and lacked sufficient knowledge to be a trainer as well as other events that happened along the way. He of course kept hidden the part of Team Rocket and the "transformation" they gave him.

"What a terrible thing for them to do to you considering your past," said Professor Oak. Since Pallet Town was such a small area, he knew almost everyone and vice versa was 100% true. He allowed Ash to visit and play with the Pokemon in the ranch outside the rear of the lab where he would spend time. Of course, this was in his earlier years when he was around 6 and 7, but not long before his 14th birthday came around, he started visiting and even helped Professor Oak do a few simple chores around the laboratory.

"May I please see how Krabby is doing?" asked Ash again as he waited for his response.

"Yes, of course. I'll transport his ball to you right now." Professor Oak pressed a sequence of buttons and within 10 seconds, a flash appeared and the ball appeared right before Ash's eyes. The raven-haired teenager was quite surprised since he had never seen this before.

"Thanks, I'll see what I can do with him," said Ash as he looked at Krabby's ball. He turned towards the door and Erika gasped as she noticed she was in his field of vision. She immediately began to head towards the exit but Ash caught her.

"Erika? What are you doing here?" He tilted his head and saw that the very same Machop he had seen earlier was right by her side.

"Oh, I was just going to heal the Pokemon from a gym battle earlier," she fibbed.

"At this early hour?" stated Ash.

Erika merely nodded in response.

Ash tilted his head when he saw that Machop left Erika's side and ran up to Ash and hugged him with a tremendous amount of force while wagging his grey tail.

"Whoa! You sure got a lot of strength for a little guy like you!" chuckled Ash as he patted Machop's head. "I gotta get going now. Nice seeing you again, little buddy and Erika."

The grey Pokemon and Erika both looked out the door and saw Ash leave. "Maybe he's better than I thought," said Erika to Machop who tilted his head with confusion. "I'm still a little uncertain of him, but I really need to head back to the gym. Maybe you should go look after him."

"Chop," nodded the grey humanoid Pokemon. He stay put in his current spot and let Ash get about 30-40 feet ahead of him and then started following him out of the city limits.

Ash headed east to Route 7 and saw the territory that belonged to Primeape. "What the hell am I even doing?" he said. Surprisingly, the location that he was at was no more than a kilometer from the gym. Machop concealed himself behind a boulder and sighed. He secretly wanted a trainer and he already listened to Ash pour his heart out. Maybe...

"Krabby, come on out!" said Ash as he threw the Pokeball to the ground and caught it as it returned to him.

"Cookie, cookie!" said Krabby. The crustacean Pokemon was completely in awe at the vast scenery and made a ^_^ face in content.

"Krabby...Misty said you are a fluke," said Ash. "She thought the Pokemon I had at the time just followed me and I didn't catch them fairly. Not true! I caught Butterfree and Pidgeotto fairly and you as well...although with a different approach."

_**Enter another flashback...**_

Ash and company were at Route 25 and approaching Bill's lighthouse.

"_Check me out; I got two badges!" _boasted Ash.

_"Wow, he acts like such a little kid," _muttered Misty to Brock. The older male nodded his head.

"_Ash, you may have two badges, but you only have six Pokemon!" _said Misty. "_A lot of trainers have at least 10 at this point!"_

_"There you go again, Misty, always putting me down," _said Ash. He approached the crab Pokemon and poked it with his finger. Krabby was intrigued and pinched the boy's finger!

_"Son of a..." s_tarted Ash. His thumb started to swell and he winced at how painful it was. "_Fine. I'll show you how to catch a Pokemon!" _Ash decided to do something relatively out of the norm; he grabbed a stick that was blown onto the beach and poked the Krabby. Krabby extended a pincer and snapped the twig into multiple little bits as if cutting paper with scissors. Ash took out a Pokeball and threw it at Krabby and the crustacean was engulfed by the red light. The ball shook three times, and, surprisingly, stayed put.

_"You just got lucky," _stated Misty. "_I personally think it's a fluke."_

_**End flashback...**  
><em>

"Oh, yeah? Well, I got something to say to you, Misty. Leaving me was your biggest fluke," said Ash. "When I get my act together, you'll be full of regret!"

Machop was hiding behind a rock and carefully watching Ash. He liked his spunky attitude, but he feared that Ash on the verge of another breakdown.

Ash looked at the scenery and sighed. "Nothing is gonna happen to me. Nothing..." Ash stopped and looked and Krabby and the boy smiled. "Just me and Krabby...out here...far away from people...who..." The reality hit Ash again like a car smashing into a brick wall.

"..Just me...and Krabby." He began to laugh with hysteria. Machop was beginning to get very worried. Krabby looked at Ash as if the boy had lost his mind. And that was just what happened. "That means...No Pikachu! The one whom I let stay out of his ball and helped him in his time of need! No Pidgeotto! No Bulbasaur! No Charmander! No Squirtle! No Primeape! And sure as hell no fucking Misty or Brock!" Ash dropped down to his knees and started crying. Machop gasped and ran away. Krabby walked in his sideways fashioned to wards Ash and gently patted him with his pincer as a sign of affection and that it was going to be okay...hopefully.

Ash picked up and hugged Krabby. "Please...stay with me...don't turn into one of those...those...no good low-lives! I hate them! I _hate _them!"

He resumed his outburst of cursing them and crying until a voice behind him said his name.

"Ash."

* * *

><p><strong>I put a long A.N. in my profile with some possible clarifications. <strong>


	3. Ash's Savior and Training Day Part 1

** GPS: I own nothing!**

**At 8:02 p.m. central US time (02:02 Greenwich time) I posted a poll in my profile about which generations should appear in the story.**

* * *

><p>"Ash."<p>

The boy turned around and saw that it was...

"Misty!" gasped Ash in total surprise. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I'm heading east to Saffron then north back home to Cerulean City. Not that it's any of your business, anyways, but I felt that we needed...a proper good-bye."

"Did...you happen to hear any of the stuff that I said?" asked Ash, ignoring the proposal she offered.

"Yes, I did," she answered as she turned towards Krabby. "Looks like you have someone who doesn't think you're a complete loser after all."

"How could you say that?" shot back Ash. "I thought you wanted a formal good-bye. How come you are now just leaving? Where is Brock? Did you happen to see where any of my Pokemon went?"

"You sure are asking a lot of questions," commented Misty. "But it rained last night and it was getting late as well, so I went to a nice hotel and stayed there. I haven't the slightest clue of Brock's whereabouts; I'm not his keeper and truth be told, I'm glad to be away with him and all his creepy advances towards random girls. Like, seriously, it's unhealthy if you ask me. As for your Pokemon...they went in scattered directions. Some headed west, some east, some south. You get the deal. I can't believe you said you hated them all."

"For what they did to me!" stated Ash. "I miss them dearly; it's just that I'm so filled with anger that that is the first emotion I feel."

"So why were you such a crappy trainer?" asked Misty.

"I never informed myself on how to raise Pokemon or even the basic strategies," he stated. "It has a lot to do with my past which I don't feel like sharing."

_Meanwhile..._

Machop was running down the streets of Celadon City and trying to get to Erika. He knew she would probably be back at the gym and that was his intended destination. His running speed wasn't all that fast since his muscles were more concentrated in his upper body and enabled him to perform supernatural strength. Machop was actually relatively clumsy and tripped several times on his oval-shaped feet. Some people laughed at him while some offered to help him up, but he graciously ignored them and continued to his destination.

He entered the sliding electronic doors of the gym and walked past the entrance desk where people would enroll for the training class.

"Excuse me!" said a girl with two large green pigtails and a pink dress. "What do you think you're doing in here?"

Machop blatantly ignored her and continued until he reached the large arena. He had never been inside the gym, so it was only of pure luck that he found Erika in the middle of a gym battle with a younger girl. Machop hid behind a plant so that he was out of view and watched Erika fight.

Her challenger gasped and took out her Pokeball. "Jigglypuff, return." She sighed and looked at her defeated partner. She turned her head when she heard a voice at the entrance of the arena.

"Hey, Erika, there's a trespasser here!" said the girl with green hair. "It's a Machop! I don't know how or why it came into our gym." She pointed at Machop and he ran out of the bush and fled to Erika and hid behind her.

"It's okay," reassured Erika as she rubbed the ridges on his head.

"Do you know him?" asked the girl.

"Yes, I do, Nikki," said Erika. "I saw him out front this morning helping...a friend." She patted his head again. "What's wrong? Is there something the matter with Ash?"

"Machop nodded and began to unleash a barrage of the syllables of his name. Erika obviously couldn't understand anything he was saying, but she could readily tell due to the frantic and excited state of Machop that it was important.

"Ash..." started Nikki. "Isn't he the one who dressed as a girl last night to get in here?" Her voice was rather snarky and Erika didn't like it one bit.

"Yeah, what of it?" said indigo-haired girl defensively.

"Not to interrupt, but are we gonna resume our battle?" said Erika's challenger.

"This is a three-on-three battle; I have defeated _two _of your Pokemon and my first one still has plenty of stamina. Unless you happen to have a Charizard or Magmar on hand, I am afraid that you won't stand a chance to beat me since this is the weaker of my Pokemon."

Tangela, whom Erika was using, nodded at this statement.

"I...only have a Persian," stated the girl. "And it just evolved yesterday."

"Do you think you have what it takes to beat my three Pokemon with your Persian?" stated Erika. "I'm only trying to be honest; there is no shame in forfeiting the match and returning later."

"I..." stated the girl. "You're right. I will walk out here with my pride instead of seeing my first Pokemon be beaten to humiliation. I'll come back in two weeks after extensive training."

"I await your return," said Erika. The younger girl walked out and Nikki turned to Erika.

"Now, returning to the subject of Ash. I was about to say something before that girl asked you a question. Seriously though, don't pay attention to that Machop, and more importantly, don't pay any attention to _Ash. _First he insults our perfume then breaks into our gym; what else can I say?" responded Nikki. "Just leave him alone."

"He is not what you think; he has suffered a lot and was just desperate to be successful and earn that red-haired girl's love. You have quite a lot of nerve talking to your superior like that," stated Erika. "I can easily have someone else replace you and you will be out of a job; how does _that _sound?"

Nikki gasped and said nothing; she was truly flabbergasted since what Erika said pretty much confirmed that she had some sort of feelings towards Ash.

"I'm going to investigate the situation. Lead the way, Machop," said Erika. Machop and she both headed towards the exit but Nikki called her.

"What about the gym? Who's gonna run it while you're gone?"

"You will, but don't do anything improper! There are cameras installed, you know, and I can detect any foul play!" responded Erika.

The two of them left the gym and Erika looked down at Machop. "So is Ash hurt? Physically?"

Machop shook his head no.

"Emotionally? He's still distraught, so I can only guess that."

Machop kept saying the syllables of his name and tried to play out with his hands and body what was going on. He even got on the ground and started crying which got the attention of a lot of people.

"Don't worry; he's fine!" reassured Erika to random bystanders who were watching. "So he had a breakdown?" It was rather rhetorical but Machop nonetheless confirmed it with a nod.

_With Ash and Misty..._

Ash had just given a brief explanation as to what happened to him in his life. He completely altered some of the more...explicit details such as his dad's rabies episode and said that he instead lost his mother (Ash's grandmother), whom both males were totally fond of, and pretty much Ash went downhill. He said that he was in such a slump that Pokemon were one of the last things that crossed his mind.

"That's an interesting story, to say the least," said Misty, "but it seems rather odd that you needed four whole years to get back in the game, and you entered it rather poorly. And you also are completely blaming your incompetence on your ADHD. I knew you had that condition from a mile away after two days of being with you."

"Why are you treating me like this?" said Ash. "You should be showing sympathy instead of bashing my life."

"He's right," said Erika who had just arrived to the scene with Machop by her side. "This is no time to insulting him."

"Machop!" said the little grey Pokemon angrily with a nod.

"Erika!" said Misty and Ash with complete shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Being more compassionate than you, for one," replied the Celadon gym leader to Misty.

"All what you did is just show up; how is that compassionate?" stated Misty.

"Because you are just looking at Ash from one perspective: a negative one, and it isn't doing his spirits any good," responded Erika. "I see him from another which I clearly think you have missed."

Machop walked over to Ash and hugged him with a wag of his small tail. Machop faced towards Misty and had anger in his red eyes.

"Your negativity is not welcomed here," said Erika. "I believe you should make your way back home and never look back at the mistake you have made by traveling with Ash. You have been nothing but a short-tempered brat and I don't tolerate your type well."

"How dare you say such things!" said Misty. "You have no authority to tell me what to do! If I wanna travel with Ash, I'll damn well do as I please!"

"Does that mean you'll stay with me?" said Ash with raising hopes. He personally believed that Misty was outwardly brash and cruel because that was her tomboy side showing, but inside, she had a heart that loved him.

"Don't even waste your time thinking of it," said Misty. "I'm going back to take charge of Cerulean gym. My sisters hand out badges like they're consolidation prizes to trainers who don't earn them."

"Yes, you go do that; your presence is no longer needed," reiterated Erika.

"Are you wanting to start a battle?" said Misty. "You sound like you are wanting a challenge."

"Only if you want one," answered Erika. "I dislike battles, but if it gets you to leave faster, then so be it."

"I am not spending any time battling you," said Misty. She then turned to ash and said, "Good luck whatever you plan on doing." She turned her back to the two of them and continued heading east, getting smaller and smaller as she walked into the horizon.

Ash turned towards Erika and just sighed. "Why did you come here? I can handle myself although I appreciate the concern."

"Machop here," she started as she placed her hand on the grey Pokemon's shoulder, "informed me that you were not doing well. He acted out that you were having a breakdown and came and got me."

"Well, thanks for breaking up the fight, but if you'll excuse me, I have to start training."

"I don't think you are in any condition to start training right now," stated Erika. "I want you to follow me."

Ash felt that he really didn't have any other choice, so he followed her as they were heading back into the city.

"Where exactly are we going?" questioned Ash. Machop was also right by Ash's side and Ash had recalled Krabby before they even started advancing.

"The first thing we are going to do is get a nice breakfast at my house," she stated. "Those berries that you ate aren't enough to get your day started, and I'm sure that my parents wouldn't mind."

"Do you think they will react well with you bringing a complete stranger over?" said Ash a bit worried.

"Well, I think it would be best if you waited outside and I will explain to them the ordeal; my parents completely trust me and I'm sure they'll check you out to be just fine. They are friendly and compassionate people who also have a good sense of knowing someone's intentions."

"I don't know; you don't have to go to those lengths just so I can get breakfast," stated Ash.

"Think nothing of it," said Erika. Little did Ash know that she actually had a lot more in store than just breakfast. After about 30 minutes, they finally arrived to a suburb in the south side of the city and Erika broke the mundane silence.

"So...I never got much information about you," said Erika. Even though she had heard a lot of the conversations he had between Nurse Joy and Professor Oak, she didn't want to come off as an eavesdropper. "Where do you live? Or am I being too personal?"

"I live in southern Kanto in a small place called Pallet Town," said Ash. "Have you ever heard of it?"

She nodded. "I hear that is where the famous Professor Oak is from there. Did you know that he is not the only Professor authorized to let children become trainers? There is one in Fuchsia City named Professor Douglas (play off of tree called Douglas fir), but he is new. He is actually not from Kanto."

"Oh," said Ash. "Do you like living here? It's kinda crowded and compactly arranged."

"I've lived here all my life, so yes," said Erika. "I take it you're used to the rural setting?"

Ash nodded and Erika and he turned down a street. Machop still was following Ash although they had lost sight of him a while ago since he was very slow and tripped frequently.

"We're finally here; my house," said Erika. It was a one-story house of about 1,700 square feet. "Please stay here while I go talk to my parents."

"Aren't most grown-ups at work at this time?" asked Ash.

"Normally, yes, but they do extensive traveling and they get this week off," explained Erika as she entered her house door. "You see, they work for extensive cosmetic and fragrance business and have to travel a lot. I am only the temporary manager of that perfume shop only when they are gone. They arrived last night about the time you entered the gym."

"No offense, but if you're so rich, why do you live in a house so...relatively small?" asked Ash on impulse. "Oh, sorry. I shouldn't have asked that."

"It's okay," said Erika. "We aren't as rich as the way I made it sound. Their company pays for their traveling expenses."

She signaled Ash to wait there and she closed the door behind her. Her olfactory senses were immediately greeted by the heavenly aroma of breakfast being prepared.

"Erika!" said a voice. It was her father named Bernard. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I came to talk to you both about something," said Erika. She heard clutter in the kitchen and then it stopped.

"Erika, honey, is that you I hear?" said her mother Natalie. Both of Erika's parents both had indigo blue hair and emerald eyes.

"Yes, mother, it is I," said Erika with a small chuckle. "I wanted to tell you something."

Erika's mother looked out the window and saw Ash sitting on the curb and looking out into the distance.

"Does it have anything to do with that young man who followed you?" she stated.

"Yes," was all that Erika said.

"Oooh, my baby's found a crush and wants to introduce him to us already!" said Natalie. "I'm so glad that you've been looking for someone to date. But you are getting a little ahead of yourself since I said you can't date until you turn 15. Your birthday is a month away from today."

"I'm well aware of that, mother, but this isn't a boyfriend-far from it," explained Erika. "He is/was a victim at my gym and I feel terrible about what happened."

"So you beat him in a gym battle and you bring him over here?" hastily accused Bernard.

"What? No!" replied Erika. "It's far more severe than a Pokemon battle. Pretty much everyone recovers from that within an hour, a day maximum, but this...this is something that I don't know how long will take."

"Did someone from your gym insult him when he lost or something?" asked Natalie. "Poor thing. If that is the case, I'd tell whomever insulted him not to come back."

"This world would be so much better off with individuals who do not look down upon others and outwardly express their discontent with rude words," said Bernard. "Believe me, I had to face hardships in my childhood because I did not like Pokemon; I watched a lot of movies that depicted them as horrible monsters, but that changed when I got to middle school," he trailed off.

Erika somewhat ignored his last statement and said, "Insulted, yes. But not by one of my members of the gym. He got insulted and betrayed by all his Pokemon and his two traveling companions, both of whom are actually gym leaders here in Kanto. It was very heartbreaking and I witnessed it all, not to mention various others."

"What exactly happened?" said Bernard as he brought plates to the dining room table while Natalie brought silverware.

"This is going to sound weird," started Erika as she began to raise her confidence, "but it's the truth."

"Ha, believe me, I've heard plenty of weird in my day; I'm sure it won't phase me out," said Natalie with Bernard nodding in response. Erika turned towards the window and looked at Ash. She then saw a grey figure approaching her house. It was Machop again!

"Persistent little one he is," chuckled Erika as she watched as Ash talked to the muscle Pokemon and pat his head.

"Erika?" said Natalie. "Would you kindly explain to us the situation?"

"I think I know would be better," said Bernard. "Invite your friend in. What's his name again?"

"His name is Ash," stated Erika.

"Please tell Ash to come here," said Natalie. "I would like to meet this boy myself."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Erika as she went out of the room and opened the front door. "Ash, my parents...would like to see you."

Both Bernard and Natalie were at the door and saw Ash and Machop. Ash followed Erika and stepped into the door frame, but he turned around to Machop and said, "You should stay out here; I don't think they want you to come inside."

"This is a friendly Machop who was outside of the gym," Erika stated. She convinced her parents that Machop was actually very nice and informed Ash about a breakdown he had suffered on the outskirts of Celadon City. Her parents nodded and Machop, too, entered the house. He was amazed at all the humans' furnishings and looked at a picture of Erika when she was a little girl. He tilted his head at it to look at it better and he smiled.

"Come join us for breakfast," said Bernard to both Ash and Machop. The two males looked at each other and shrugged and made their way to the table. Natalie brought to the table homemade pancakes, bacon, orange juice, coffee, and an assortment of fruit. Ash got some of everything except coffee while Erika had a small amount of each. Machop was given a glass of water and since he was not tall enough to reach the table nor fluent with silverware, he held the plate of food with his left hand and shoveled it in with his right. Despite being deprived of manners, he nonetheless prevented food from going everywhere on the floor and whatnot.

"So, Ash," said Bernard who was finishing a pancake. "Erika says you have undergone something tragic. Would you mind-"

"Father!" gasped Erika very sternly and looked at her father very carefully. "You don't have to be so blunt about it."

"It's okay; I guess if I talk about it more and have supportive people around me-although I barely know you, Erika-it would help me recover," said Ash. Machop patted the boy's thigh and encouraged him with a smile.

Ash took ten minutes to fully explain the situation from the point of meeting with Team Rocket to the point where he broke down at Route 7 and his confrontation with Misty. He began sharing his ideas of whether or not it would be wise to return home or resume his journey with a fresh start. He provided minor details of a bad past (mostly such as the event of the Oddish attacking him) and that he lacked interest in Pokemon until about a year ago. He also mentioned his inept battle style and that he didn't know much about type advantages and disadvantages and how he was able to win at Pewter gym.

They continued talking for about an hour and they all shared laughs; even Machop laughed as well and the humans laughed politely at how a Pokemon was able to sense humor. Ash was very polite and showed elegant manners to the parents of the city's gym leader; he had been with Misty for over 5 months and he knew absolutely nothing about her parents. He knew Brock had a father who abandoned him but then made a mysterious comeback.

"Sounds like you have had a very rough start, young man," said Natalie as she sipped her coffee. "I have a suggestion that may help you a lot, Ash, assuming Erika is willing to participate."

"What are you thinking of, mother?" asked Erika. "I had an idea in mind as well. I think it may do Ash a lot of good if he had someone who actually knows how to be supportive and completely void of negativity to accompany him on his journey."

"I...Yes. I was just about to say something like that," replied her mother.

"I-I don't know," said Ash. "It's not really necessary."

"Nonsense!" chuckled Erika.

"Machop!" said the grey Pokemon in agreement as he drank more water.

"It's settled; Erika will be your new mentor," said Bernard. "But if you so much as hurt her, physically or mentally, I'll-"

"Father!" interrupted Erika. "Do not make Ash any more uncomfortable than he already is. I have the highest grades at school and you know that I am beyond mature for my age. Plus, I have Pokemon that will protect me from anything. You both do not need to worry about me."

"But..." started her mother. "You're right. I never should have doubted you. But feel free to call us any time."

"Oh, we won't be embarking on a journey today," reassured Erika.

"We aren't?" said Ash who was a bit disappointed.

"No. We need to inform you on the preliminaries. Let me go get some stuff from my room and we'll head back to the gym." She left the table and went down a hallway to her room, leaving Ash alone with her parents.

"Uhh," said Ash a bit speechless. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Yes, but we'll have to monitor the two of you to make sure-" started Bernard.

"Bernard!" said Natalie. "Erika is more capable of handling herself. But I must ask you, Ash; where do you plan on staying?"

"The Pokemon Center, of course," said Ash. "I can stay the night there free, but I only get one night. Trainers get more than one only if their Pokemon are in critical condition that need intensive care."

"I'm sorry for coming off as overprotective," said Bernard, "but I love my daughter greatly and…"

"You don't need to explain," said Ash. "We're both opposite genders; you think I'm probably some hormonal teenager who wants your daughter. Well, I don't; I think I'm too young to form a relationship."

"I hope your words are sincere," said Natalie.

"I believe they are," said Erika as she came back with a large bag filled with books. "Let's head back to the gym and get started."

"I'll go freshen up and head to the perfume shop," said Natalie.

"Mother, you have a day off; you don't need to go today," said Erika.

"I know, but I just want to stop by and talk with some friends," she said as she headed for her bedroom.

"I'll drive us all to our locations," said Bernard. After about ten minutes they all (except Machop) got in the Toyota sedan and left the house. Machop was sad and started to walk away with his head down. The car arrived at the gym and then it disappeared into the distance as Bernard was driving his wife to the perfume shop.

"So we're here now," said Ash. "What are we to do now?"

"Easy," said Erika. "Just follow me." She lead him down a hall but Erika saw Stephanie approaching from a distance.

"Don't say anything to her; completely ignore her," whispered Erika. Ash nodded to her command.

"You really must have gotten in trouble," chuckled Stephanie with a sly tone. Ash didn't even bother to look at her face and just kept following Erika. "Hey! At least acknowledge that I said something to you!"

Still nothing came from Ash's mouth.

"Erika!"

After Erika's patience was used up, she turned around and said, "Please keep all your comments to yourself before I ban _you _from this gym."

Speechless. That was all that Stephanie felt. The girl with long blue hair walked her different path as Erika continued walking. She got a key out of her pocket and unlocked a door that had a window at about 5 feet. It looked like the kind one would see at a school's classroom.

"Step in," she said. There was an array of chairs and desk and it looked like a classroom; it even had windows in it although they were closed.

"What is this place?" said Ash.

"Oh, this is gym also doubles as a primary school," she explained, "but the children today are on a field trip. Since my family has current ownership of the gym, I also have the keys to all the rooms; they shouldn't be back until...3 o'clock?"

Ash looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:02 a.m. and smiled. Erika locked the door behind and opened the windows. The sunlight poured in and Erika turned on only one light switch to save electricity.

"So...Let us begin with the very basics," she said as she took out some books and handed them to Ash. He found a seat right in the very front and flipped through the books while he looked at all the pictures and what not while Erika was busily writing on some pieces of paper.

"What are we learning today?" said Ash.

"Recognizing Pokemon by their types through visual characteristics," said Erika. "See, when I heard about your strategy on how to defeat Brock, I immediately knew that it was through pure luck. Something also must have been wrong with his Onix and Geodude, too."

"What do you mean?" asked Ash.

"Your Pikachu's electric attacks should have done no damage whatsoever to either of those types," explained Erika.

"But he's a rock-type gym leader!" said Ash.

"True, but both of those types he used were also part ground type," stated Erika. "Did you use your Pokedex on them?"

"Yeah, just to know about their characteristics, which provided no help," scoffed Ash.

"You should've explored other information such as their types, which we are learning today," she said. She set down about a dozen or so index cards that were face down so he couldn't look at what she wrote. "Select a card. Any one will do."

"Okay," was all Ash said. He randomly chose a card and turned it over; it said "Bug" on it. "It says 'bug'," he said.

"Right," she said. "Now it's your turn to show me what you know." She handed a book which contained all 150 Pokemon of Kanto all in one page. She handed Ash a pencil and said, "Circle all the ones that have bug type in them; then I'll ask you some questions about them."

"Sure," said Ash. He circled all the choices of what he thought was a bug type. To Erika's surprise, Ash had circled all the correct choices; there were a total of 12.

"Yep, that's all the right choices," said Erika. "Look at all the choices you selected. Tell me some characteristics they share."

Ash took a few seconds to think then said, "Well, except for Butterfree, they're all kinda ugly."

"That isn't what I meant, but-" she paused and looked at the 12 circles again. "Heh, you are right; I wouldn't really qualify them as cute, but...I mean, do they share physical characteristics that you can apply in case you see a species that is new? Cause I've been hearing that researchers have been sighting new species."

"All right," said Ash as he began to think. "They...look like they are mostly green and have scales. Some of them have wings and weird thingies on their head."

"Those are antennae," said Erika. "But yes, most are greenish in color and usually have wings. Now, here's a question: do wings automatically make a Pokemon a flying type?"

"Yes?" said Ash a bit haltingly.

"Wrong," she answered. "There are of course exceptions." She flipped the book and it showed the backs of Pokemon. "Take a good look again."

Ash looked at the pictures carefully. "Let's see...Beedrill has wings, but I don't think it's a flying type. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's true; Beedrill has another type. Do you know what it is!"

"Um...Gimme a second to think," he replied. He _knew _Beedrill had another type. But what was it? He remembered the first encounter with Beedrill at Viridian Forest.

"_Watch out for its poison sting attack!" _warned the samurai in a flashback.

"Poison! It's poison!"

"Right!" said Erika with a giggle. It was 11:14 and she felt that they were already on a good start.

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><p><strong>GPS: I hope you liked it! Please mention if there should or should not be further generations despite the year is '97 in the story. TWIYH has over 1,500 words now and will be worked on. Sorry for being slow! D: <strong>

**Next chapter will be equally long if not longer. Have a nice day!**

**Also, this will _not _be the end of Misty or Ash's original Pokemon.**


	4. Training Day Part II and New Ally

**A.N.: So based on the poll I can tell that people want to see some from all generations. You got it! And**** since this is the case, there will be moves from other generations! Anyways, enjoy! Cause I really enjoy writing this. And I don't own Pokemon!**

* * *

><p>1:54 p.m., Wednesday September 24, 1997. Ash had been with Erika for almost three hours in the process of relearning the fundaments of becoming a Pokemon trainer. It was no easy task by any means, but it was happening; Ash was gaining the fundamentals he had never learned and was greatly gaining confident that he would get on the right track fairly soon. Ash even was provided with a notebook and jotted down quite a lot of notes to help him remember.<p>

"Ash, I'm so glad that you are progressing so well," said Erika. "You just finished your last card and told me all of the types and their characteristics. I think tomorrow will start a different aspect and learning strategies of battling."

"Thank you so much for the nice words, but…" started Ash with his head down low.

"What is it?" said Erika.

"There still is a card left on the table; is there another type I'm not aware of?"

"No, I want you to flip it over anyways," said Erika softly.

Ash shrugged his shoulders and flipped it over. There was a small note on it and Ash read it aloud.

"'Everyone deserves a fresh start. I believe in you Ash.'?" He read a bit stunned at the polite words that were written on the index card. Ash felt his eyes moisten and his lips trembled.

"Ash? Are you okay?" said Erika as she went over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He wiped his eyes and said, "You have shown more kindness to me in one day than Misty has during our entire journey. Thank you. I'm so sorry about what I did in your gym and what I said at the perfume shop. I wish to Arceus that I hadn't done that, but I was desperate to get in here. And what I said about the perfume; media-"

"All of that is behind us now; we don't need to look at it anymore and we can just move forward," said Erika.

"Thank you again," said Ash.

"We all go to great links to get what we want; you were tricked by some evil people and I believe I shouldn't have banned you. If I hadn't, maybe your team would still be with you at this moment."

"My team radiated a mix of different auras; some of the pleasant, some of them hateful, some of them disappointed, all over the place, if you will. I'd rather not think about them now but it's hard to get this out of my mind. I feel like I can move on with my life if I have someone who has a good heart like you. I thank you yet again."

"You're more than welcome," she said as he got up and looked out the window.

"I am expecting a better tomorrow," said Ash. "Despite my heart still hurting…I have another reason to keep moving on. I—" He was interrupted by a knock at the door and he turned to it; there was no one visible so he thought that someone had left after the initial knock. "Are they back already? Or is that one of your staff members?"

"I'll have to go see," said Erika. "They shouldn't be back at this hour and everyone here is tall enough to see through the window." She went to the door and…

"Machop!" said the grey Pokemon with a big smile on his human-like face and a tail that was wagging fast.

"Machop!" said Ash with a gasp but he was relatively pleased as well. "What are you doing here?"

"Chop, Machop, Chop, Chop," said the fighting Pokemon. He continued to say the syllables in his name and Ash and Erika just looked at each other. Machop's face also changed from sad to elated as he said his name, conveying specific emotions he felt as he was telling his story to the humans.

"I'm going to take a wild guess," said Ash as he thought back at the emotions Machop displayed. "You saw us leave Erika's house…" He got a nod in response…"and you got sad and tried to find us?" He got another nod to confirm that was true.

"I know you heard us say we were going to the gym," started Erika, "but how did you know where to find us?"

"I helped him find you," said a voice. It was Nikki and she had a smile on her face. "I talked with Stephanie earlier and she informed me of what you were doing. Both of us had a talk and we felt that we were being too irrational in our behavior towards you about Ash. I then saw this Machop walk into the gym and it—"

"He," corrected Ash. Machop said his name in defense of being called an "it".

"…He wanted to know where Ash and Erika were. Stephanie told me where you guys were going, but she didn't specify which room since she didn't see all that. So once we came down this hallway, we followed your voices and, well, here we are!"

Footsteps approached and it was Stephanie. "Ash, I would like to apologize for the way I behaved to you, both today and yesterday. It's just that I respect Erika so much and I would hate to see someone toy with her emotions, which is why I treated you like dirt. But I now understand that Erika is far more mature than I am and has a spirit like iron; very little upsets her. I guess I was just viewing this as if I were in her shoes."

"I was a horrible person for what I've said and done and you have every right to feel the way you did," said Ash as he petted Machop's head. He cooed his name in delight with a wagging tail.

"Such a handsome Pokemon," said Erika. Machop gasped and turned cherry red with bashfulness. The other girls giggled and Nikki apologized for being rude to him earlier while Stephanie approached Ash with an extended hand.

"Can we start over? My name is Stephanie and I want to be an interior designer and botanist."

"My name is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and I'm restarting my Pokemon adventure from a completely different perspective now," said the boy.

"So…now what do we do now?" said Ash.

"Well, although we are going to do more studying and getting more knowledge tomorrow, maybe we should practice in the gym?" suggested Erika.

"I only have one Pokemon," said Ash sadly.

"Chop, Chop," said Machop as he playfully nudged Ash's gut and smiled.

"Do you…want to join me?" asked Ash. Machop nodded his head and he grabbed Ash's hand in a friendly gesture to signify that they were buddies. Ash smiled at this and he took out a Pokeball. "Let's make this fair; how about I battle you to test your strength? Whether you but me or not will not affect the outcome of you joining me. How does that sound?"

"Ma!" he said happily.

"Wonderful! And I will provide herbal medicine afterwards to heal the two of you," said Nikki as the humans and Machop left the classroom. They arrived to the open arena and a large group of grass Pokemon greeted Erika and Ash as well as Stephanie and Nikki.

"Well, this will be a match of Pokemon with no advantages or disadvantages," said Erika. "Even though Machop seems completely determined to be Ash's partner whether win or lose, I'm still interested in seeing what this little guy can do."

Ash was a bit nervous since he did not even know what moves that Krabby had. "So let's see..." he said a bit hesitantly as he got out his PokeDex and pointed it at Krabby.

"_Krabby's level is 15 and the current moves are bubble, leer, and vicegrip." _He then pointed it at Machop and his picture appeared on the PokeDex screen and Dexter said, "_Machop's current level is 16 and knows the moves karate chop, low kick, leer, and focus energy."_

"Only one level apart; this will be an interesting battle," said Stephanie as she, Erika, and Nikki sat on the bleachers and watched the battle unfold.

"Right! Krabby, go and give Machop a vicegrip attack!" ordered Ash. Krabby began walking in his sideways fashion and approached Machop while clicking his pincers to intimidate the muscle Pokemon. Machop seemed unfazed by this and gave Krabby a look that could send chills up anyone's spine. Ash was quite surprised at the sudden change in emotion of Machop; he always pictured him to be happy and playful, but he was pulling off a face that could surely make a young child cry.

"That leer is kinda scary," said Nikki, earning a nod in agreement from Stephanie. Krabby remained motionless and was panicking on the inside despite having a somewhat blank look on his face. Nonetheless, he used his left pincer and clamped Machop's right arm but Machop retaliated by using a karate chop on Krabby's shell, forcing him to let go from the pain.

"Krabby! Don't falter!" shouted Erika from the sidelines, causing Ash to smile from the encouragement that she provided. Although it wasn't his particular goal to beat Machop in a battle, he definitely needed to get some practice in to get the hang of properly handling a Pokemon versus using improvised strategies that would end up failing like he had done in the past, although some of them did work.

"Use your bubble attack!" said Ash. Small bubbles left Krabby's mouth and they hit a Machop that was surrounded by a blue aura. He flexed his muscles and began running to Krabby but tripped along the way.

"Oh no," said Erika as she saw Machop fall. He brushed aside the grass that covered his body and he performed a dropkick on Krabby. The location on Krabby's body that he hit turned blue for a brief second and then Krabby was knocked back.

"That was focus energy!" said Ash. "And that attack did a lot more damage than I would've thought!"

"That's because focus energy makes critical hits much easier to land," explained Erika. "That blue aura was Machop's fighting spirit that he heightened and he concentrated it into that low kick."

"Cookie, cookie," said Krabby as he tried to get back on his side. Ash lent a hand and helped Krabby stand up properly.

"You're doing fine; this is your first battle, after all," reassured Ash with a smile. "Do you think you can use another bubble on Machop?"

"Cookieeee!" exclaimed the crab Pokemon as he unleashed bubbles all around Machop, confusing Machop and making him lose his balance.

"Now, go and finish with a vicegrip!" said Ash. Krabby approached Machop again and applied pressure on the grey Pokemon's leg. Machop gasped and sent out a powerful kick that sent Krabby back yet again. With his relatively soft (in comparison to shell) underbelly showing, Machop knew that would be a perfect spot to execute a karate chop, which he did. Krabby moaned in pain and swirls appeared in his eyes.

"Krabby is unable to battle, which means that Machop is the technical winner," said Stephanie.

Ash went over to Krabby and Machop approached them both. "I'm sorry, Krabby; I didn't mean to push you too hard. Did I?"

"Cookie, cookie," said Krabby while shaking his "head" no. Nikki got down on her knees and handed Krabby part of a root she broke in half. She handed Machop the other half and said,

"This is an energy root; it's...rather bitter but you should feel your strength recover."

Machop and Krabby both consumed it and stifled gagging at the horrible taste. Nikki also gave them part of an Oran berry and the sweet taste canceled the nasty root. They felt so much better now.

"Well, Machop?" said Ash as he took out a spare Pokeball. "Ready to join me?"

"Machop!" he said as he fist-bumped the Pokeball, getting transformed into data and being stored in the ball. It shook three times and dinged to show that he got capture. Ash chuckled and picked up the Pokeball.

"Hey, I got a Mac-" he said, but the Pokeball wiggled and Machop popped out of it!

"Chop!" he said vibrantly as he flexed his muscles.

Ash and the others laugh. "You're just like Pikachu! Who hated...being in a Pokeball..." said Ash as his spirits started to go down again. He sat on his haunches and looked down with hurt. Machop and Krabby both went to their trainer and patted him gently.

Erika went over to him and got down on her knees and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Take it one day at I time and your heart will heal over time. I promise."

Tears were about to form on Ash's face but he didn't want to break down in front of these people. "I'll...be okay," he reassured as he returned the affection that his two Pokemon were giving him by giving them each a pat on their heads.

"Well, now that you got Machop on your team, what do you plan on doing now?" asked Nikki as she watched Ash with sympathy in her eyes.

"I'm not giving up, that's for sure," said Ash as he collected himself and stood up. He placed a hand on Machop's shoulder and said, "I want you, Machop, to symbolize the first Pokemon that I caught along the way and the beginning of a new ray of hope."

Machop said his name and flexed his muscles before hugging Ash's leg.

"Excuse me?" said a voice from the entrance of the arena. "Which one of you is Erika?"

"That would be me," said Erika. "Are you wanting to challenge me?"

"Yes," said the girl. "My name is Hannah and I would like to win my badge."

"You sound fairly sure of you skills," said Erika, "but I will not deny a challenge. Ash, why don't you have a seat and watch a certified gym leader do her job? This will be a great learning experience for you."

Ash nodded and he, Machop, and Krabby got onto the bleachers with the other female members of the gym.

"Three on three, how does that sound?" said Erika.

"Lovely," said Hannah with a smirk. "Please have the honor of sending out your first Pokemon."

"Fine. Tangela, show her your skills!" Erika let out a blue noodle-like Pokemon that had a face hidden among the countless eyes and had on red shoes. Erika looked back at Ash who had his notebook out and was making observation of efficient battling.

"Golbat, let's go!" said Hannah. Ash took out his Pokemon and got the information on both Pokemon; Tangela being a female at level 28 and Golbat was a male being at level 26. Based on what he learned, Tangela was at a huge disadvantage against Golbat since it had a four-times resistance to grass moves even if she was two levels higher than the bat Pokemon.

"Wow! Erika is against a Pokemon that has a clear advantage over her!" said Nikki.

"That may be true, but keep in mind that Erika is not an amateur," said Stephanie.

"Golbat! Go in and use poison fang!" ordered Hannah. Golbat said its name and flapped his wings as he approached Tangela. His teeth glowed a toxic purple as he dove towards Tangela.

"Use bind to stop Golbat then use tickle!" commanded Erika. Tangela used two vines to wrap around Golbat's wings and used two more to tickle his feet and his wings. Golbat entered a frenzy of laughter and was completely immobilized.

"Tickling causes the opponent's attack and defense to fall," explained Nikki.

"Now use slam!" said Erika. Tangela let go of Golbat and jumped into the air.

"Counter with air cutter!" said Hannah. Golbat got off the grown and took to the air. His two wings glowed as he was about to launch his attack, but Erika smirked.

"Sleep powder!" she commanded as Tangela let out the turquoise dust that blew into Golbat's face. His eyes drooped and fell to the ground hard and Tangela applied all her weight onto Golbat's back with slam.

"Golbat! Please try to wake up!" said Hannah who was in a tight bind. Five seconds after she said that Golbat finally woke up and up flew up high to prepare a wing attack. Tangela tripped on a small pebble and got hit by the attack but still had a lot of energy left.

"Mega drain!" said Erika.

"A grass-type move won't do anything!" said Hannah with confidence.

"Oh? Are you sure about that?" replied Erika while maintaining a professional composure.

"Why would she be doing that if Tangela is at a huge disadvantage?" said Ash somewhat rhetorically.

"Tangela has a very high special attack, plus, she has a miracle seed which raises grass moves," answered Stephanie.

"I'm being a bit doubtful, aren't I?" said Ash, earning a playful nudge from Machop to tell the boy to keep his eyes on the battle.

Tangela sent out a blue vine and wrapped it around Golbat's body and a green light appeared around Golbat as Tangela drained health away from him and returned it to herself. Tangela's body also glowed the same green and she appeared more vibrant than ever. She released Golbat and Hannah said,

"Supersonic!"

"Sunny day!" shouted Erika. Tangela formed a beam of light that temporarily blinded Golbat and halted his attack. The beam of light penetrated the greenhouse windows of the roof **(in the center of the circle of Vileplume's head from the outside of the gym) **and caused heavy sunlight to pour into the gym. Golbat was further blinded and the supersonic attack had no affect whatsoever.

"Solarbeam!" commanded Erika. Tangela used the intense sunlight to channel it into a beam of light and fired it at Golbat who then fainted after that move made contact. Ash was amazed at the strategy that Erika used.

"I'm confused," said Ash to Nikki. "Doesn't supersonic normally lead to confusion?"

"Yes, under normal circumstances, but Erika's Tangela has the ability leaf guard that prevents any status problems during bright sunlight," explained Nikki.

"You using sunny day wasn't a smart move," said Hannah, "because I now have a better Pokemon. Go, Growlithe!"

The puppy Pokemon came out of its ball and barked at Tangela. Ash learned that this Growlite was female and at level 25 and felt that Erika could potentially be at risk since Growlithe had an obvious advantage over Tangela.

"Flamthrower, let's go!" said Hannah as she pointed at Tangela. Growlithe inhaled and used the additional power of the sun to enhance the flames.

"Ancient power!" ordered Erika. Tangela glowed white and unleashed an energy ball into the fire in an attempt to deflect the flames, but the flames were far more powerful and pushed back the the attack to Tangela who got hit with her own attack and the flames. This was sufficient to knock her out and Ash and the audience gasped.

"She-she lost," said Ash with a frown. Both Machop and Krabby also put on a frown, too, but Nikki and Stephanie weren't in the same position.

"By lost, you mean Tangela lost all her health points," said Stephanie. "This battle is just _warming_ up!"

"Oh, Arceus," said Nikki with a face-palm to Stephanie's horrible puns. "But she is right, though. This battle is nowhere near finished. Tangela is one of Erika's least-skilled Pokemon."

"I wonder what other Pokemon she uses?" thought Ash.

"Very well, I shall use..." said Erika as she threw her next ball to the ground..."Ivysaur!"

Ash was stunned. "She had a Bulbasaur?" he said with disbelief.

"It's actually her father's, but he lets her use him for gym battles," said Nikki.

"Flamethrower!" ordered Hannah.

"Sweet scent!" said Erika. The bud on Ivysaur's back shook and pink dust diffused across the room. Growlithe was in the middle of creating the flame in her stomach when the dust reached her nose. Her eyes bulged and she stopped and smelled the wonderful aroma while wagging her tail completely distracted.

"Now show them your leech seed, please!" said Erika with a hint of grace in her professional tone. A rather large seed formed on the bud on Ivysaur's back and it was launched at the puppy who was in a daze. Growlithe gasped and the seed opened and released vines that wrapped around her, sapping her energy.

"Use flame wheel to break the vines!" said Hannah. Growlithe turned a fiery orange and the vines turned to small heaps of ash. The puppy began to dash towards Ivysaur but Erika had no fear.

"Attract!" she said. Ivysaur spun around really fast once and winked, sending a comical heart towards Growlithe. Growlithe came to a screeching halt and stared at Ivysaur with infatuation; she had completely put herself into a vulnerable condition to go goo-goo eyes over the plant Pokemon.

"Oh, come on, Growlithe! Snap out of it!" ordered her trainer, but it was pointless. Growlithe was head over heels for Ivysaur and Hannah knew the only way to stop it. "Return for now!" she called as Growlithe returned to her ball.

"Is returning to the Pokeball the only way to snap out of love?" asked Ash to Stephanie.

"Unless you have a mental herb, yes; other than that, your Pokemon is rendered useless while in love," she answered.

"Go, Seel!" she shouted as she let out the bluish-white pinniped Pokemon that clapped her flippers together. "Aurora beam!"

"Razor leaf!" said Erika. Ivysaur unleashed a torrent of sharp leaves towards the rainbow-colored beam of light that Seel unleashed. The two attacks managed to miss and Ivysaur got hit with the ice attack while Seel was sliced with the leaves. Both attacks landed critically and it appeared that Ivysaur was not able to withstand the attack and fell over fainted.

"Hannah may beat Erika," said Ash as both he and Machop shared the same faces of stun.

"Don't be so sure of that; she always uses her best Pokemon when backed into a corner," reassured Nikki who folded her arms.

Erika was in complete shock but nonetheless selected her last Pokemon: her _best _Pokemon.

"Gloom, go!" she said as she released the walking weed Pokemon. "Sludge bomb!"

Gloom obeyed and hurled huge blobs of toxic filth at the weakened sea lion; because Seel had taken a critical hit from razor leaf, and the fact that Gloom was part poison and got an attack bonus, Seel fainted, leaving Hannah with her only choice left: Growlithe. Growlithe entered the field and eyed Gloom with utmost confidence.

"Growlithe, flame charge!" said Hannah.

"Gloom…you know what to do," urged Erika politely. As the flame-covered body of Growlithe dashed towards Gloom in what Hannah thought would be the final blow, Gloom released a green gas from her head that diffused across the _entire _gym.

"That's all-" began Hannah but stopped once she got a whiff of the odor. It even made its way up to the stands were Ash was and he, Machop, and Krabby stifled retching, but Nikki and Stephanie seemed unfazed by the smell. It was the _worst _thing that Ash ever smelt; it smelt far worse than a bag of trash that was left to rot under 100+ F temperatures—not that he knew what that smelt like. The stench knocked out Growlithe completely; there was no way anyone could fight with that smell lingering in the air.

Hannah didn't even had time to tell Growlithe to return; she simply recalled the puppy and dashed out of the arena without saying another word.

About five minutes had passed and the smell finally faded away. Ash sighed in relief and said, "Why aren't you guys gagging?"

"We're kinda used to it," said Nikki.

"They say that is the worst odor in the world," started Stephanie, "but after years of being around Gloom, we seem to have grown immune to it."

Ash chuckled and left the bleachers and met up with Erika. "That was awesome; for a second I thought you would lose!" he said.

"Thank you," she said with a nod. "I used to be quite bad at battling and many trainers said that I was a bit too kind and let them win, but I've really stepped up my game and make sure that trainers _earn _their badges. I am just doing my job and making the battle too easy for the opponents doesn't really give them much satisfaction since there wasn't a challenge."

"I agree with you all the way," said Ash as he held out his hand which she shook, "_mentor._ I bet you are tired and would like to rest cause I know I am."

"I actually am since I didn't even leave the gym last night," she said. "I watched you break down and saw you open up to Machop and he even gave you some berries-some of which I planted, but nonetheless, I saw a bond form between the two of you."

Ash was about to open his mouth and say something but the girl with the short brown hairl who told Ash that they manufactured that stinky perfume in the gym entered the arena and said, "Erika, your father's on the phone."

Erika went into the lobby and picked up the phone and her father immediately asked her how she was. She pretty much got the vibe he wanted to make sure that Ash was doing anything bad and she instantly convinced him that things have been going swimmingly and productive and was planning to teach Ash more. He said that he was going to pick her up and was leaving the perfume shop with Natalie as soon he hung up.

"Father is coming to get me," said Erika. She let out a huge yawn and tried to stay awake but was drifting fast. "You may want to go to the Pokemon center and get a nap yourself; it must have been dreadfully uncomfortable to sleep on the concrete during the night."

"That is a very tempting idea," said Ash. "Do you think your dad could drop me off at the Pokemon center?"

"I see no reason why he wouldn't," said Erika. "Stephanie, Nikki, will you run the gym while I go home? I'm afraid my stamina is running far too low and I'm sure that you would like to handle the evening class."

"Of course," said Nikki. "Go on home and have a nice dinner and sleep well. You do the same, Ash."

"I may come back later," said Erika, "to lock the gym, but I'm sure my father can. I'll see you tomorrow."

Ash and Erika both waited outside and Bernard pulled up to the gym.

"Is it okay," said Ash to her father, "if you drop me off at the Pokemon center by the perfume shop?"

"No problem, " said Bernard with a smile as the car went to its destination. Ash went inside and showed his I.D. to Nurse Joy and crashed into bed for a nap. He knew he'd wake up in a few hours to get dinner, but he was more tired than he expected. He gained a lot of knowledge from watching a _true _professional at work and had motivation to keep him going. Erika was taken home and she remained fairly quiet except to disperse any accusations that her father and mother had. Ash kept crossing her mind and she felt deep care for him. It was a truly magnificent feeling to help someone, especially one who had suffered a big downfall like Ash did.

Ash had woken up a few hours later to see that Machop was lying on his left side and using his hands as a support. Ash smiled and hugged Machop who eagerly returned it.

"I'm glad that you found me," said Ash. Machop said his name and Ash resumed talking about the future and he wanted Machop to forever stand by his side. The two of them then went to get some dinner and Ash even let out Krabby to get some food. Ash couldn't wait for another potentially gainful day tomorrow with Erika. He _wanted _to know all this and become a better person.


	5. Machop and Ash's Dilemma

**GPS: Not much to say other than sorry for taking so long to update! Exams piling up and a few issues, but I will work on this a lot during Thanksgiving holiday next week! And I don't own Pokemon!**

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><p><strong>Thursday, September 25, 1997<strong>

Ash woke up in the morning and saw that Machop had moved during the night. The grey Pokemon was at the foot of the bed with his feet facing the head and was under the covers. Ash gave a big yawn and it woke up both Krabby and Machop and he greeted them both as he put on his attire. He wondered what Erika had planned today and said hello to Nurse Joy and headed out of the Pokemon Center. To his surprise, Erika was standing at the opposite side of the street, eating a small sandwich.

"Good morning, Ash, Machop," she said as Ash took a seat as well as Machop.

"Morning," replied Ash. "What have you got in mind for today?"

"I was planning on doing things a bit differently," she explained as she pulled out two tickets from her handbag. She handed one to Ash and he looked at it carefully.

"What is it?" he asked.

"My parents are back at work, so we can't use them for transportation," she said. "These are bus tickets that head for Saffron City. It should be arriving within 15 minutes more or less."

"Saffron City?" said Ash questionably. "I was there five days ago and got my Marsh badge." Unfortunately, he did not mention that he never truly beat Sabrina. Rather, she gave him the badge after courageously enduring the torture of her psychic powers and having her two separate personalities merge back to one thanks to Haunter.

"Well, as I had said before, we are doing something different, but rest assure that it will be part of learning," said Erika as she finished her water. The two of them engaged in casual chatter untill the bus had finally arrived which they both boarded as well as Machop. They showed the driver the tickets and they took a seat on the third row with Ash and Machop on one side while Erika was on the other side. While Ash was sitting down, his hand accidentally brushed against Erika's arm and he began to blush a crimson red but she did not seem to be bothered by his mistake.

"Can I at least know where in Saffron City we are going?" asked Ash with curiosity as he watched the girl take something out of her handbag. They were sheets of paper that were conveniently on a clipboard and had a black pen and she handed them to him. Ash took them but was confused.

"This is a quiz to see if you are able to apply what you learned yesterday and that you can retain what you learned," explained Erika as Ash hesitantly looked at the material he just received. Machop looked over Ash's side and saw the papers and tilted his head as he wondered what exactly his trainer was doing. Ash carefully read the first question that said: "Which of these Pokemon would have a type advantage against Onix? (More than one may be right.)

Upon reading the word Onix, Ash immediately began to think back at the time he battled Brock at the Pewter gym. Had she intentionally put down Onix so Ash could learn from his mistake or to possibly taunt him? He remembered the kindness that Erika had shown him and immediately shrugged off the premonition. He looked at the choices and saw Seaking, Ponyta, Beedrill, Exeggcutor, and Machop. Ash immediately smiled when he saw the name Machop and knew right off hand his little buddy would have an advantage towards and Onix so he immediately circled that name. Ponyta? Ash had never seen one of those in person, but he did remember seeing flames on its back in that picture book and remembered that fire-types were at a disadvantage. He used the same logic with Beedrill and his final choices were Seaking, Exeggcutor, and Machop. The boy was about 95% confident that these answers were correct and he showed it to Erika.

"Did you finish already?" she responded politely as she looked at the paper. Her question was answered when she saw that he only finished the first one.

"Can you check to be sure that it's right? I am pretty sure it is, but I want to be certain first by having you look over it," said Ash with a nod.

She graciously accepted it and looked over at the paper and nodded in approval. "Yes, this one is correct and I'll look over it after you answer them all," she said calmly as she read a small book to pass time.

Ash simply took back the clipboard and moved onto the next question. "- would be effective against Dragonite. (More than one may be right)." The following choices were sludge, earthquake, flamethrower, ice punch, rock slide, thunder, hydro pump, and aurora beam. Ash immediately knew off hand that Dragonite was clearly a dragon since it and its line were the only ones in Kanto, and he also learned that dragons could resist various types of moves. The only trouble was remembering which ones specifically. Ash honestly felt a little upset since he had desires of impressing Erika, but then again it was a relatively large amount of information to digest yesterday. He shook his head slowly and moved onto the other questions.

After about 15 minutes had passed, Ash finished the quiz of 20 questions. Most of them asked stuff such as which move would be effective towards said Pokemon or what the weaknesses of a specific species were. Nonetheless, he handed Erika the quiz and she started looking at the answers he had put down.

"I am not sure if I did as well as I hoped, but I still wish to learn this and be more effective as a trainer," said Ash. Machop calmly put a hand on Ash's arm to reassure him that it would be okay.

"You don't have to worry if you missed some; after all, we only started yesterday," said Erika as she resumed looking at the answers. She made some "mhmm" noises and wrote a few notes and handed it to Ash as she finished it. On the top of the first page it said "16/20 = 80%" and there was also a smily face that Erika drew. Ash smiled and flipped through the pages to see what he got wrong. It was the choice about Gastly and its weaknesses and he had put that ground was one but Erika wrote a small note that says, "Technically yes, but its ability negates ground moves."

"We didn't talk about abilities," said Ash. "I thought that Gastly was poison type as well as ghost?"

"Sorry, I guess I forgot to overlook that," said Erika. "Your grade is a 16 out of 19 now."

Ash felt slightly better at the higher grade but the education was more important than the numerical value. He looked down at his paper and also got the one about Dragonite wrong; he put that it was weak against aurora beam, thunder, and ice punch.

"Erika, I am struggling on the one about Dragonite," said Ash. "I thought that it was a flying type and that they are weak against electric moves?"

"That is true; flying types are weak against electric moves, but Dragonite's primary type is dragon and those types resist electricity," she explained.

"So does that mean it does normal damage?" said Ash. She nodded and she looked at where they were. They were close to Saffron City and they talked about the other questions and looked at the growing skyline of the city. Ash had seen the skyline from a bluff before but this was a completely amazing view!

Erika pulled the cord to tell the bus to stop and the three of them got out. Ash looked at the building which looked like some Japanese shrine and turned to her.

"Where are we?" he questioned as he and Machop both looked around with awe.

"This is the Saffron City Fighting Dojo. I figured that since you have a fighting type, it would give you inspiration to be around others," she explained. "And give Machop better skills. No offense, but something is wrong with your Machop."

Machop seemed stunned and Ash was a bit surprised at the last sentence she said. "What's wrong with my Machop?" He turned towards the grey human-like Pokemon who had a worried look upon his face and his brow bone sunk with sadness.

"Several times I've noticed him trip. I don't know whether that is normal or not, so it's better to ask a professional on fighting types," said Erika. "That's the only thing that is wrong. You two don't need to worry."

"Come to think of it, I've noticed that, too," said Ash with speculation. "Coming here sounds like a really good idea." The two humans and Pokemon entered the sliding shoji and tatami-styled floor and looked around aimlessly. Ash and Erika remained silent for a moment until he broke it and said, "So, are we supposed to be waiting for something? Or someone?"

"Greetings," said a very large man wearing a karate outfit and a Pokemon that Ash had never seen before.

"H-hello," said Ash as he said at the towering figure. The Pokemon at his side easily must've been about 30 inches shorter than its trainer and had a very stoic look upon its face. Ash was completely amazed and wanted to see what Pokemon this was. He took out his PokeDex and pointed it at the man's Pokemon and Dexter said, "Pokemon unknown. No available data."

"Hello," said the man in a calm voice while looking at the two teenagers. "I have not seen you around from these parts. What brings you hear today?" He looked down and saw Machop who had his eyes fixated on the unknown Pokemon. The man chuckled and got on his knees to look at the Machop more carefully and patted the Pokemon's head. The grey Pokemon recoiled slightly and went behind Ash's legs and looked at the man from the corner of his eyes.

"It's okay, Machop," reassured Ash as he patted his partner's shoulder. Ash extended his right arm out and said, "My name is Ash Ketchum. I'm from Pallet Town and I recently acquired this Machop and my friend here, Erika, said that it may be a good idea to visit here. You know, maybe to get some advice on how to properly raise a fighting type?"

"Ah, of course," said the man. "Fighting Pokemon posses a spirit that is rivaled by no other types. They have an unwavering resolve albeit they tend to have moments of stubbornness. My students and I are about to have a training session. You may participate if you like."

Ash nodded but his glare was heavily fixated on the Pokemon that his PokeDex was unable to identify. Finally, Ash got the courage and said, "What type of Pokemon is that by your side?"

"This is Lucario, a Pokemon that is predominantly native to a region called Sinnoh," said the man. "I did extensive training over there and caught him in his pre-evolved form, Riolu. Since then, we have become inseparable partners."

Machop got the courage and moved away from Ash's legs. The small Pokemon walked over to Lucario and looked up at the bipedal canine Pokemon who responded with a low grunt of "Car" and a smile formed.

"What an interesting Pokemon you have, mister..." started Erika as she took note of Lucario and noticed the interesting external features such as the spikes on his wrists and chest as well as the appendages that were on the back of his head.

"My name is Kenshin Sensei, but that is the proper title some students give me, but you can call me Ken if you wish," stated the tall man. "Follow me."

Ash, Machop, and Erika began to follow Ken and Lucario and the former opened a pair of shoji doors into a dojo. He walked inside but turned around when he heard a loud thump. It was Machop who had fallen onto the ground. Ash gasped and helped the fighting type get back on his feet.

"That also reminds me," stated Ash as Ken looked back at the situation. "Machop has fallen down frequently since I have gotten him and I was wondering if perhaps something may be wrong."

"This is a good opportunity for Lucario to utilize his aura to read Machop's mind; maybe he'll detect something that be the cause of his problem," stated Ken.

"I...What is aura?" questioned Ash as he turned to Erika. Erika responded by saying that even she did not know about it.

"It is an emanation of spirit and energy that all living things generate," stated Ken. "Very few Pokemon and even fewer humans have the ability to read it to sense how one is feeling. The even more-trained individuals can also read minds, such as my Lucario here." Lucario took a step forward and nodded at Machop with the distinct grin on his canine face. He placed his paw on Machop's shoulder and an strange glowing began to envelop all of Lucario's body; the light was a light blue and Ash was truly stunned at what was happening. The large appendages on the back of Lucario's head began to rise and extended to the side of his head. Machop was a little worried, but Ken reassured him that everything would be fine. After about 2 minutes of nerve-wracking silence, the process was complete and Ash said,

"Well? What now?"

"_Be patient, young human," _said a voice.

"W-who said that?" responded Ash. He looked around to see if perhaps one of Ken's students had arrived and said that to him.

"Are you okay, Ash?" asked a concerned Erika.

"That voice you heard was telepathy, an ability that some Lucario can use to communicate with humans," explained Ken. All three humans remained silent and that gave Lucario the cue to resume.

"_It is not surprising to get that reaction from a human," _said Lucario with telepathy. "_Your Machop here has an interesting story that describes why he has difficulty walking. I was able to receive a mental image of what happened and it is quite touching, though sad at the same time." _Lucario took a brief moment and sighed due to the news he was about to transmit to Ash through telepathy.

_"_Please go on," coaxed Ash. "I want to know more about my Pokemon's history."

"_Your Machop here had attempted to play hero and sustained more physical injuries to his pride. Your Machop was the runt of his siblings and was looked down upon. He was in his cave with his family was ambushed by some shady figures."_

"I wonder if it was Team Rocket," said Ash to Lucario and said Pokemon shook his head no.

"_These did not look like those common criminals. They looked more like your run-of-the-mill trainer. But they were not so sympathetic when it came to battling Pokemon. They had the objective of capturing all the Pokemon in that cave and Machop's siblings as well as his mother and father, his mother being a Machoke, and his father being a Machamp, ran into a secret hiding place. Machop wanted to defend himself and the others to prove that he was not as weak as the others saw him, but his parents instructed him to run as far away as possible and find a kind-hearted trainer."_

Ash was already quite emotionally touched by the story Lucario was transmitting. Ash recapped what Lucario had said and told the others and he turned to Machop and said, "Did your parents not want you? What kind of parent does not want their own Pokemon?"

Machop responded by saying various combinations of the syllables of his name, and Lucario placed his hand back onto Machop and picked up the aura and read his mind.

"_He says that the Machop evolution line are extraordinarily prideful in their strengths and look down at any weakness. His parents were hoping one day that a good trainer would come by and try to catch him, but when they saw how hateful and spiteful those trainers were to their Pokemon and the others in the gave, they did your Machop a favor by not letting him be captured as he was the weakest and would not put up much of a fight."_

_"_They sent you away to protect you from those humans?" asked Ash rather rhetorically since Lucario had already informed the human of said situation. Machop quickly nodded his head up and down and said "Ma".

"That sounds almost counterintuitive if you ask me," said Erika as she folded her arms and looked at Machop.

"How so?" said Ash.

"Well, if they knew that your Machop was the weakest one, why would they send him out of the protection of his parents' care as well as the safety of the cave? That doesn't seem to add up, if you ask me."

"_Machop says it was a spur-of-the-moment decision," _resumed Lucario into Ash's mind. "_Plus, he also said his parents weren't the smartest individuals you'd meet. They weren't abusive to him physically or emotionally, but I could tell for sure that they had disappointment in their eyes. You now must be wondering how he obtained his injury. After he left the cave, he had unintentionally stumbled into the nest of a...Nidoqueen, I believe they are. They chased him and he ran with all his might, but he tripped over a rock that was hidden in the grass and fell down. A Nidoqueen approached him and used its tail to knock him off a small ledge and landed on his left thigh. He believes that he may have torn something since he says he feels nothing is broken. Bone-related, that is."_

Ash told the other two about what happened and Ken said, "How tragic! Poor thing, it must hurt tremendously."

"And here I was suspecting that he possibly needed help via training," said Erika. "I feel sorry for him and slightly bad for pressuring this."

"Erika, don't feel bad," said Ash as he looked back at Machop. "Thank you so much, Ken, and especially you, Lucario. The only issue I have now is how to fix this problem. This certainly isn't something we can ignore, obviously, but what do I do know? Can Pokemon Centers fix this?"

"Yes, but not by healing them in their Pokeballs," said Erika. "It more than likely will require an operation, but I only know this from people and I can't say it would be the same for Machop since Pokemon are different."

"My recommendation?" stated Ken as he placed a hand on Machop's shoulder, "is to come back when you recover, which I am sure you will." He stood up and said to Ash and Erika, "The two of you should go visit the Saffron Pokemon Center as soon as possible. And I would recommend that you keep Machop in his ball to prevent any more stress on his joints. Is there anything else that I can help the two of you with?"

Ash and Erika both said no and Ash once again thanked Kenshin and Lucario. Ash recalled Machop and the two of them started walking through the city again. Ash's mind was heavy with worry about Machop, but the boy knew that getting down over it would not do anybody good. In fact, the raven-haired teenager was actually glad since he now knew that there was a high chance of fixing the problem that was holding back Machop. Ash changed his demeanor and he and Erika casually strolled through the gargantuan city and took note of many famous sites. Saffron had a much different appeal than to the time that Ash and his former friends traversed the city and the late summer weather accentuated the leisure in walking through it. After about 45 minutes since leaving the dojo, the two trainers arrived to the Pokemon Center and Ash went up to the counter and said to Nurse Joy,

"Nurse Joy, one of my Pokemon has something wrong with his leg. Is there any way that you can help him?"

"Of course," replied Nurse Joy as she took the Pokeball from Ash's hand. "The best thing to do is get an X-ray and fortunately, the technician is here. May I see your trainer authentication? It's part of our rules."

"Of course," said Ash as he took out his PokeDex that confirmed his identity. "Please help my friend."

"You have nothing to worry about; we use the world-renowned technology provided by the local Silph Company, so your friend will be in good hands," reassured Nurse Joy as she bowed and left the scene. Ash sighed in relief, but he wondered if he was putting too much faith in...No...He was quite certain that everything was going to go smoothly. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Erika speak.

"Ash?"

"Yes?" he said quietly while not looking at her.

"I'm sorry about Machop, really. I can tell your mind is weighed down with thoughts about him, but it won't do you good if you sit around and sulk. I can't picture you sitting here the remainder of the time and waiting for them to come back with the news."

Ash, whose glance was directed towards the ground, met Erika's soft forest green eyes and said, "You're absolutely right. This is a perfect opportunity to learn something new and keep ourselves busy. Now, what do you have in store?"

A smile slowly formed on Erika's face, evidence that she was pleased with Ash's words. "You truly show motivation in your words and heart. I think that's a wonderful idea and I'm sure that we can cover a lot of material."

Ash got on the couch that she was sitting on and sat a few feet away from her so that she could place her bag on the middle cushion. "Okay, then. Let's get some water first before we start," Ash stated as he went to a vending machine and got two large bottles of spring water. Erika took it from him and said,

"I could've paid for it, you know."

"Nah," said Ash. "I believe that the boy should pay for stuff."

"Ooh, a bottle of water; how flattering," teased Erika and they both shared a small chuckle. Ash sat back down and Erika took out some stuff and began looking at it while Ash took a large sip of his water. "I was kinda thinking," resumed Erika as she got some papers organized, "that we should focus on some rudimentary topics, like status effects and the like. Maybe some concepts of defense and offense of different Pokemon; some excel in one particular stat, such as Machop with physical attacks, while some are more focused on defense, like Tangela, but Tangela has a poor special defense."

Ash nodded and wrote stuff down in his notebook and Erika continued providing information to Ash. It must've been a good 45 minutes until a voice called Ash.

"Ash Ketchum?" said Nurse Joy as she walked over to the two teens. Ash stood up and nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, ma'am?" he said respectfully to the pink-haired nurse.

"I'd like to show you a few things privately if your friend doesn't mind."

"As the trainer of Machop, I'm giving her permission to accompany me," explained Ash. Nurse Joy did not object Ash's request and she lead the two of them to a separate room. She pointed to a board on the wall and there were X-rays there; they clearly belonged to Machop and they were quite interesting to look at. They were so uncanny in their similarity to a human body, almost as if it were an x-ray of a three-year old human. What surprised Ash the most was Machop's feet. From the outside they looked like just grey ovals, but surprisingly, they had metarsals and even phalanges, but it puzzled him that there were no toes.

"As we predicted, there is a tear in a ligament below this groove here in the sartorius, a type of muscle in the thigh," explained Nurse Joy as she pointed to the X-ray. "Also, there is a tear here in the anterior cruciate ligament right here on the knee. It's a relatively minor tear, but continuing to walk on it will more than likely cause it to get damaged even more and become more painful."

Ash sighed in relief upon hearing this but he didn't say a word.

"Can it be repaired?" asked Erika with concern as she looked at the X-ray again with a saddened expression upon her face. Ash looked into the mystic forest green eyes of the teenager and saw that she appeared to be even more worried about the situation than he.

"_Erika...She's such a kind-hearted person," _thought Ash as he looked at her face again. "_Her eyes are so beau-Wait. Snap outta it, Ash! She's just your good-spirited mentor!"__  
><em>

The boy shook himself and gasped. The two females looked at him and Erika said, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Ash as he directed his attention to the nurse.

"So are you okay with the procedure?" asked Nurse Joy.

"W-what procedure?" questioned a puzzled Ash.

"...About fixing Machop's torn ligament," said Nurse Joy slightly impatiently and equally confused as he for not hearing her explanation that only Erika heard.

"I'm sorry," apologized the boy. "I thought for a second and my mind was somewhere else. Please tell me again?"

"It's okay," said Nurse Joy. "What we will do is use a graft obtained from a hamstring tendon here," she pointed to where it was located on a different X-ray. "The doctors will first make an incision around the knee and pump it with saline solution."

Nurse Joy resumed giving meticulous details about the operation and Ash seemed a bit nervous about it. "Can I see Machop before he goes to surgery?"

"Absolutely," said Nurse Joy as she headed towards the door. "We will need to get some paperwork for you to sign and a few other things. Please wait here for a few minutes while I do so." She left the room and left the two alone. Ash looked at Erika and said:

"What do you think about this? I'm not gonna lie; I fear something may happen to Machop."

"No. You must believe. You _must _stay strong," replied Erika as she placed a hand on Ash's shoulder. The two remained without speaking until Nurse Joy came back and let Ash sign some paperwork. Once he had finished, she took it back and different person wheeled Machop in on a gurney and brought him to Ash.

Ash looked down and gave a warm smile to his companion who eagerly returned it. Ash extended his hand and clasped Machop's right hand and squeezed it with comfort and said, "These people are going to fix what's wrong with your leg. You should be back to normal in time; I can't say how long, though, since Pokemon are different from humans, but..."

"Machop!" said the grey Pokemon with a nod of his head. He returned the affectionate squeeze with one of his own. Ash winched in pain.

"Heh. Your grip is so strong," chuckled Ash and so did Erika. She walked over to Machop and petted his head gently and reassured him that everything was going to be okay and that they would be thinking about him the whole time. The doctor returned and Ash nodded to signal him to take Machop to operation. Ash and Erika both remained at the side of the gurney and spoke softly to Machop until they reached the area of medical personnel only.

"Good luck!" shouted Ash into the door and Erika pulled him away from the door.

"Come, Ash," said Erika as she walked by his side and they went outside of the building. "Some fresh air will do you good and I want to show you something."

Ash nodded and she lead him to the outside of a carnival that had arrived in town. The boy was a bit confused and said, "Why are we here? I don't think that this is a good time to have fun when Machop is having an operation."

"We aren't here to have fun; I wanted to give you something to think about," said Erika. Erika lead Ash until they were on the outside of a mesh fence and on the other side was the Ferris wheel.

"Ugh. The Ferris wheel," said the stubborn boy. "I am not that found of heights."

"Nor was I at one point, but the Ferris wheel overcame that fear," said Erika. "This is something for you to think about." She pointed as one of the many different colored cars began to rotate one after another as they left the station. "From the perspective of an outsider, they all appear the same, like us humans, speaking metaphorically. Same species and so on. The complete rotation of the Ferris wheel represents the passing of time; any arbitrary unit such as a day, week, etc."

Ash nodded but was still a bit lost with what she was saying. "So you're saying," he began, "that we still are the same as time passes?"

"Not necessarily," said Erika as her gaze remained fixated on the tall rotating wheel. "To us from a distance, people do not seem to change much physically as time passes, assuming that each rotation is a day. But that isn't the point I'm trying to make since I haven't finished. It isn't the outside that matters; inside each car, or each person, that is, lie emotions and feelings that we cannot sense. Not everyone enters the ride and leaves it the same. Some may be scared out of their minds upon the start of the rotation, but when they complete the first one, their mentality may change. Does one person become braver and more headstrong upon the new rotation, or do they let their fears get the best of them? That is up to the person inside to determine."

Ash was completely silent and took time to digest what she had just said. After about a minute of silence, he broke it and said, "So we humans have the capability to change emotionally and mentally with the passing of time, assuming we are willing to?" She nodded in response. "But what if they are happy and excited throughout the entire ride? Does that mean they are optimistic all the time?"

"Maybe, maybe not," she answered. "Perhaps they are content with the way their thinking and handling of situations are and do not alter them even if they are not pleasing to others."

"I think I know why you took me here," said Ash. "You gave me this somewhat complex analogy - which I appreciate you telling me, nonetheless - that I am the one who determines if I will be stronger as the days go by, or will I remain the same when dealing with the betrayal."

"You are catching on rather swiftly," she said with a delighted lilt in her voice and with a nod while she turned to Ash. She looked down at her wrist watch and said, "It's 2:28. What should we do to pass time?"

"I haven't any idea," was all that Ash could say.

"I was thinking that we could enjoy the carnival?" suggested Erika.

Ash shook his head no to the suggestion and said, "It would take my mind off Machop. Plus, what if they finished early? He would probably be devastated to find out that I was enjoying myself while he's in pain. Maybe after he's healed we can come back here, but I think it's better if we returned to the Pokemon Center and talk there."

"I'd like that," said Erika. "But we can still enjoy ourselves at the Pokemon Center and you'd be there the instance Machop gets out of operation."

"Oh? What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that I could stop buy a store and get a puzzle or a board game. You can't sulk about Machop all the time when he's in operation. It isn't healthy."

Ash was pleased with Erika's thinking and he followed her to a local toy shop. After a few minutes of browsing, they found a board game and returned to the Pokemon Center. They played "Wake Up Snorlax" (a somewhat parallel game to "Don't Wake Daddy" but with different rules, obviously) for a while and shared many laughs. Even some other trainers wanted to join in which Ash and Erika gladly accepted. They must've been enjoying themselves for about a good hour and half until a doctor called Ash; It had been around two-and-a-half hours since they took Machop to operation and informed the raven-haired teen that Machop had come out wonderfully and that all had gone smoothly. Ash was beyond thrilled to hear this and so were Erika and the trainers they were playing with. Ash asked if he could see Machop, but they said that they wanted to monitor him for a few hours in a sterile environment for safety measures. Ash told the doctor to tell Machop that he said that he was so glad that his buddy did okay and was outside in the lobby waiting for the first opportunity to see him. The doctor smiled and said he would fulfill that request and left the room. He returned a few minutes later and told him that Machop was very pleased that not only his trainer cared so deeply for him, but also that his leg would recover.

Ash walked over back to Erika and sighed in relief. "I can rest easy now," he said to her.

"I knew that things would be fine," she answered and extended her arms out and _hugged _Ash! The boy gasped and turned a wild shade of crimson red but nonetheless returned the hug. Erika excused herself and headed to the ladies' room and a guy who joined Ash's game got Ash's attention.

"Hey. Don't deny it; you got feelings for her. I don't blame you one bit; Erika is one of the kindest gym leaders and authorities of Pokemon I've ever met. She seems to think highly of you. I'm honestly quite jealous of you, truthfully."

Ash blushed again and said, "She's showered with me with kindness after witnessing a downfall I had. She definitely isn't like other girls I've known."

"Name's Cooper, by the way," said the boy. Ash told Cooper his name and Cooper resumed talking. "It really must have been something you went through if she's being this nice to you."

Ash was a little taken back and grew a bit "What do you mean by that? Is she only being nice out of pity?"

"No, no, no," said Cooper defensively. "That isn't what I meant at all. I mean, one truly must be kind-hearted as she in order to reach out and follow you versus staying at the gym and giving you a word of advice."

"Oh. I see. Sorry I was like that," apologized Ash. "But you act like you know her a lot."

"You're right; I don't know her that well," answered Cooper. "I'm just telling you my experience from when she beat me in battle." He looked and saw that Erika was approaching them and Cooper excused himself and left the Pokemon Center.

"So? Do you wish to continue playing?" she asked.

"Not right now. I think I should talk to Krabby," said Ash. He took out the crustacean's Pokeball and Krabby looked around puzzled.

"Cookie, Cookie?" he seemed to say.

"Sit on the couch, Krabby," instructed Ash and the crab did so. Ash rubbed the invertebrate's head and Krabby was quite pleased with this. "So. Our friend Machop that you battled yesterday has had to get an operation. He probably won't be able to fight for a while so I may need to turn to you while he recovers." Krabby understood what his trainer was saying and said "Cookie" again as confirmation of understanding. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. It may seem unfair to leave him on the sideline, but I can't ignore you. I care for my Pokemon equally."

Krabby poked Ash with his pincer and seemed to "smile"; when his eyes made that expression (the ^_^ one) Ash knew that Krabby was content and cared for his trainer. It was a marvelous feeling to experience bonding between a trainer and his Pokemon.

Ash, Krabby, and Erika began to pass time talking about future aspirations and other random stuff and even got a nap in. When they woke up, it was already 5:50 p.m. and they decided to go have dinner and made their way back to the lobby at about 6:30. They spent a few more minutes talking until someone said Ash's name.

"Mr. Ketchum?" said a male doctor.

"Yes, sir?" said Ash respectfully.

"We've transferred Machop into a room and we are giving you permission to see him; there's even a pull-out couch should you wish to sleep there," explained the doctor.

"Thank you very much," said Ash graciously as he shook the man's hand to amplify his gratitude. Ash smiled and was directed to a room down a hall and he opened the door. There in the bed was Machop covered with a white blanket. The blanket around his hips began to move; Ash smiled and realized Machop was wagging his tail! Ash asked if it was okay if Erika and Krabby could enter the room as well, but he suggested at most two be in the room at the same time. Ash told Erika and Krabby to have their moments with Machop since he would be spending the most time with his Pokemon as he was spending the night in the room. He looked through the square window of the door and watched as Erika held up Krabby so the two Pokemon could talk. They did so for about a minute and Erika put Krabby on the ground and it was her turn to talk. Ash could see her rubbing the ridges on his head and telling him about how strong he was mentally and that she didn't care if he was undervalued by his parents. Machop wagged his tail and they resumed talking until Erika said,

"Ash. You have a fighter in there. He is very brave and excited that he will heal."

"I know. I have met him only yesterday morning and it's strange how we get along so well already," said Ash.

"Ash."

"Hmm?"

"I must tell you something."

"What is it, Erika?"

"I...have to return home," she started and Ash was instantly saddened by this. "For tonight, that is. My parents will probably be home in a few hours and they'd be worried sick if they saw I left without telling them. I wish they could be more understanding and let me help you without them badgering me if I had done something "improper". I-"

"Let the Ferris wheel rotate," said Ash. Erika paused in amazement now that Ash was understanding what it meant. "You have to allow it to rotate in order to let them change their minds. You may be able to convince them, but when they see that the ride is not so scary and overcome their "fear", they will let you go."

"Oh, Ash," said Erika as her beautiful eyes were focused on his. "You're absolutely right. I should just wait to see how they handle it; they should know that being overprotective is making me feel the same with each rotation of the Ferris wheel. But..."

Ash held her hand and she gasped at the sudden action. She did not object though and Ash said, "You are serving as just my mentor to help me get back on the right track, but when I'm around you, I feel-"

"Ash Ketchum?" said a voice. It was Nurse Joy and she said, "There is a call for you. It's your mother and father."

Ash looked at Erika and frowned; he was close to telling her something intimate, but Erika encouraged him to speak with his parents.

"Go. I'll see you tomorrow, Ash. Be strong." She placed her left hand on his right shoulder and locked eyes with him for a few seconds before nodding and leaving the Center.

Ash walked into the room where Machop was and held his hand and said, "My parents are on the phone. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Machop."

Ash went into the lobby and picked up the video phone. His mother and father were both there and they both had worried looks on their faces.

"Ash, son, we heard what happened from Professor Oak," said his father Alexander with a stern tone but was easily filled with deep concern. "Why didn't you tell us first?"

Ash held his head down low and shook it. "Dad...I was battling emotions and thoughts in my head yesterday. I-I didn't know what to do. A part of me wanted to resume being a trainer, but a part of me wanted to come home. I was very close in choosing the second one, but I guess I was too determined. Plus, I didn't want to make you both mad."

"Mad? Sweetie, we could never get mad at you," said Delia as she smiled at her son. "It's just that we were so devastated when we found out from Professor Oak and not you. Given your past, you could've done something reckless and hurt yourself!"

"I'm sorry, mom, truly I am,"said Ash.

"I believe you, Ash," said Delia.

"Son, we support you no matter what you do," said Alexander. "You don't have to feel ashamed if you want to come home. We can work things out and seek counseling to make you a better person and trainer and try again in the future. Don't let others' opinion deter you."

"I appreciate it, dad, but there's something else I want to say," said Ash.

"Go ahead," said Alex.

"The Celadon gym leader, Erika, saw this tragedy happen. She saw it all. I don't even think she got sleep the other night because she was so concerned. Then someone found me - a Machop. An injured one at that. He had something wrong with his leg and had an operation. He's my Pokemon now and he shows great respect for me and cares for me." He resumed informing them of Erika helping him get on track and her teaching methods and his parents were quite enthusiastic that a certified gym leader was helping him in such a situation.

"Ash, you are such a kind-hearted person," said Delia. "And fortunate as well. I have faith in you. But next time something happens, please inform us."

"I will, mom, I promise," said Ash.

"I love you, son," said Alexander. He resumed speaking but with a much quieter voice. "I wish I was there to hug you. The three of us should meet soon and see this girl and personally thank her. Be nice to the girl and don't do anything stupid; you're far too young to perform acts-"

Ash immediately grew beet red with embarrassment. "Dad!" he said with shock. "I just heard a similar lecture from her parents! I know! Plus, I don't think she's my type anyways."

Ash heard a gasp. It was Erika.

"I gotta go; Machop needs me," said Ash and said good-bye again. He went towards Erika and said, "So. I assume you heard a lot?"

"Yes," she said in a bland tone. "I assume that your parents were glad to know you have no interest in me. I forgot my purse and now I will be leaving."

"No, Erika!" said Ash. She turned around and he grabbed her hand. She was about to strike him, but he said, "That was a lie!"

She immediately retracted her hand and lowered it. "What did you say?"

"About me not having any interest in you; that was a lie to get them off my back. Before the doctor said my name, I was going to say that when I'm around you, I feel like I have far more confidence in myself and life. I said that also because I didn't think you felt the same as I do. I know. We've known each other for a little more than two days, but you've connected with me more than anyone else besides my parents has ever shown!" Ash was panting for speaking so fast and Erika's almost hostile attitude immediately reverted back to the kind, loving attitude that Ash love.

"Y-you really mean that?" Ash was about to nod and she said, "No need to. I overreacted drastically to what you said to your parents. I shouldn't have been eavesdropping you in the first place. Whether you like me or not doesn't matter. I guess I just...I don't know..."

"It's okay, Erika. It's understandable. I probably would've done the same in your situation," said Ash. "Does this mean you will still help me?"

"Absolutely," said Erika. "My feelings have remained the same."

"You are just my mentor - as of now," said Ash. "I would like to know more about you and hope that this friendship remains strong."

A tear fell from Erika's eye and she wiped it away. "Of course, Ash. Even if you weren't interested-"

"Shh," said Ash quietly. "We're good now. You go home and get some rest. I'm going to be with Machop."

"Absolutely," said Erika. "I can't wait to see how Machop is doing tomorrow. You both take care of yourselves."

"We will!" said Ash. Erika left the Pokemon Center and Ash went to Machop. He had some conversations about what happened and confessed he truly liked Erika. After awhile, they went to sleep and hoped tomorrow would be better.

* * *

><p><strong>GPS: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Longest one by far. I hope to get some constructive criticisms! It lets me know where I shouldneed to improve to make this story more interesting! Have a pleasant day! (:**

**P.S.: The next chapter is something that I may need help on; should I write a summary of, say, 1,000 words of what happened during the recovery time and move on to when they embark on their adventure, or the next chapter can focus on say, two days after the recovery with a lot of emotions and friendship between Ash/Erika as well as dialogue between her mother and father? Then Chapter 7 can be the start of their adventure. I'm okay with either suggestion and will make it a poll.**

**I am working on TWIYH as well. I greatly appreciate everyone's patience.**

**Also, forgive me if the operation time is not accurate or logical**


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